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STEPHEN HEGARTYThe toddlers were treated with antibiotics and one was hospitalized. Both are recovering from the bacterial infection, which can be fatal.
DADE CITY - Two toddlers at the Wee Care of Pasco day care center recently were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, a serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain.
The 2-year-olds, a boy and a girl, have been treated and are recovering, according to the director of the day care center. Nevertheless, the staff and the families of other 2-year-olds at the school were advised to watch out for symptoms and seek medical attention.
"Both children are fine now," Wee Care director Maureen Gilbertson said Wednesday. "We had the two cases, and one child was hospitalized. But the antibiotic really seems to knock it out if you catch it in time."
Pasco County Health Department director Dr. Marc Yacht agreed Wednesday that the illness appears to have been contained. His department learned of the first case on April 14. Because of the seriousness of the disease, any case of bacterial meningitis must be reported to the health department.
"We believe it has been contained, but it's not over yet," Yacht said. There is a two- to 10-day incubation period, so if another child has been infected, he or she might not have experienced symptoms, Yacht said.
Though it can easily be treated when caught in time, bacterial meningitis can be fatal. Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, discomfort looking into bright lights, confusion and sleepiness.
In the first case at Wee Care, the child exhibited symptoms at home on April 11, according to Gilbertson. The child was examined by a doctor and the proper tests were done, Gilbertson said, so the correct diagnosis was made.
The second case took a little longer to diagnose, she said. It is unclear whether both children were infected from the same source.
The health department has been in regular contact with officials at Wee Care since the first case was reported. The staff has been advised to clean the school to reduce the likelihood that the disease will spread.
"This is not a highly contagious disease, like measles or the flu," Yacht said. He said the disease is rare, and that Pasco might have one or two cases reported a year.
Wee Care has 50 to 55 children each day, but Gilbertson said only eight children are in the program for 2-year-olds, where infection was most likely.