Meningitis spreading in Harris and surround

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Remember the election flap when the DNC said Houston was ripe for an epidemic?

http://www.khou.com/news/stories/6495.html "Humble Next for Meningitis Vaccinations?

7:25 PM January 19, 2001

Come Monday, Harris County health officials say they may recommend mass vaccinations for bacterial meningitis in the Humble area.

There have been nine cases of the potentially-fatal disease in Harris County since October. Five of the nine were in Humble. One of the five died.

Tomorrow, New Caney will begin innoculations for everyone between the ages of 2 and 24, hoping to stop the spread of the disease. There have been 11 cases in Montgomery County since October, the most recent being the three in New Caney.

Harris County officials say if they do recommend the vaccinations it will be with a more narrow scope. They're expected to target the teenage population. Three of the five Humble cases have been teens. A fourth involves a 10-year-old boy. The fifth was an elderly women, who died.

Bacterial meningitis is often masked by its flu-like symptoms, but typically involves a fever, severe headaches, stiffness in the neck, and, sometimes, a skin rash with small purplish-red spots...."

-- tex (tex@tex.com), January 19, 2001


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