Student’s death linked to meningitis

A cold, hard rain matched the mood inside Shaler Area High School on Wednesday as students learned of the death of a classmate who apparently had bacterial meningitis.

The day before, the sun was shining, and Charlotte Penny, 16, was alive.

By yesterday morning, everything had changed.

Students listened in stunned silence as teachers announced that Charlotte had died early that morning.

The sophomore was sent home from school Tuesday with flulike symptoms. Hours later, the Etna girl was rushed to UPMC St. Margaret in Pittsburgh. At 2:23 a.m., she was dead.

Now her classmates are struggling with their grief and their possible exposure to the potentially deadly bacteria.

Junior Mindy Vita, 17, seemed oblivious to the steady rain that swept through the school parking lot as she recalled her friend and fellow band member.

'She was always happy. She would never get mad,' Mindy said. 'If you ever had any problems, she would give you a hug in a heartbeat.'

Mindy expected that her mother would take her to the doctor yesterday afternoon to get a round of antibiotics. The close friends had thought nothing of sharing a soda on Monday.

One of the ways the disease spreads is through the sharing of drinking cups.

Bob Keys, senior deputy coroner with the Allegheny County Coroner's Office, said there will be no ruling on the cause of Charlotte's death until the office has the results of a microscopic examination, which will take a few days.

However, Guillermo Cole, spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department, said it is 'very likely,' based on her symptoms, that the girl had meningococcal meningitis.

Cole said her infection probably was bacterial, not viral, and is communicable only through close contact.

Immediate family members and other people with whom the girl was in close contact will be treated with antibiotics to protect them and prevent additional cases, Cole said. Students who came in contact with the girl casually at school will not require treatment.

Cole said it is difficult to trace the source of the bacteria because some people can carry it without getting ill.

Cole said the girl apparently had meningococcal meningitis, which infects the lining of the brain and spinal cord. He said she also had a rash, which indicates she had a blood infection that is part of the disease.

Meningococcal meningitis is a form of bacterial meningitis that is spread through intimate social contact, such as kissing or the sharing of drinking or eating utensils.

The symptoms mirror those of a bad flu, but they begin much more quickly and rapidly increase in severity. The symptoms include a sudden onset of a fever, intense headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting. Anyone who displays these symptoms should seek medical help immediately, Cole said.

The incubation period for those who have been exposed can range from two to 10 days, Cole said. So far, no related cases have been reported.

Cases of meningitis can vary from mild to overwhelming. In serious cases, the bacteria can cause death in a matter of hours, Cole said.

Shaler Area Superintendent Donald Lee said the high school staff was looking after the students' emotional health, while health department workers were monitoring their physical health in the wake of the death.

Lee said school district counselors arrived at the high school yesterday morning to talk with students about the death and help them through the emotions they might be feeling.

Also, health department workers have been at the high school dispensing the drug Rifampin, which can protect people who were exposed to the bacteria, Lee said.

'If parents are concerned if their child has been in direct contact with the bacteria, they (the students) can come to the high school to receive the drug,' Lee said.

All of Shaler Area's 5,600 students were sent home Wednesday with a note explaining how the disease spreads and what parents should do if they think their child has it, Lee said.

'She sounds like she was a wonderful young girl,' Lee said. 'Her close friends were tragically affected. She was a member of the band, and those members are like a close-knit family. I know that the band director was very upset over this.'

Charlotte, an honor student, played the clarinet in the marching band. Mindy said the band was called to the auditorium yesterday morning so members could be together when they learned of Charlotte's death.

Band members were given a choice of going home or mourning together in the band room, Mindy said. She said she decided to stay to share her grief with her friends.

Lee said that the school will keep counselors available for the rest of the week, but classes will be on schedule as normal.

Cole said there are about 10 to 20 cases of meningitis each year in Allegheny County, mostly in children or young adults.

But, he said, the disease also can affect older people. Last year, there were 14 cases and just one fatality.

This was the second case of meningitis in Allegheny County this year, but the first fatality.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site said meningitis bacteria are spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, but none of the bacteria that causes meningitis is as contagious as the common cold or the flu.

Staff writers Mark Berton and Dan Reynolds also contributed to this report.