Third Ohio Meningitis Case Confirmed

ByABC News
June 6, 2001, 7:16 AM

C A N T O N, Ohio, June 6 -- A decision to inoculate 5,800 students andstaff from six area high schools because of a meningitis-relatedoutbreak helped ease the fears of some parents.

The Ohio Department of Health decided Tuesday to initiate thestate's first large-scale immunization program in nearby Allianceas a precaution after two students died in May and a third becameseriously ill.

Sick Girl Has Same Meningitis Strain

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmedtoday that the third student, Christin VanCamp, 18, had thesame strain of the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis that led to thedeaths of the students, spokesman Tom Skinner said.

Health officials originally planned not to make a decision onwhether to vaccinate until test results came back from the thirdvictim.

Meanwhile, a hot line set up to answer questions from residentsreceived hundreds of calls throughout the night, with the only lulloccurring between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., authorities said.

"Our job is to err on the side of conservatism," said NickBaird, the health department's director.

"It's just better to be on the safe side for everyone," saidCarol Reese, whose 16-year-old son attends Alliance High School."It's good for people who are afraid for their children, and Ithink it will make life a little easier for them."

Beloit West Branch High School students Jonathan Stauffer, 15,and Kelly Coblentz, 16, died within three days in late May afterbeing stricken with a blood infection caused by the deadlybacteria.

On Saturday, VanCamp, a senior at nearby Marlington High School,was diagnosed with the same kind of infection. She remainedhospitalized today in Akron and is expected to recover. She hadbecome infected after attending calling hours for one of the deadteens.

Nationwide, meningitis immunization campaigns occur three tofour times a year, Skinner said. He said the size of Ohio's massimmunization is about average for such efforts.