The tragic death of the nine-year old Berkeley resident was an isolated, rare occurrence of bacterial meningitis. City of Berkeley Public Health nurses worked with Berkeley Unified School District Officials to immediately investigate the situation to protect the health and well-being of all students and community members. The girl's immediate family members and classmates have been screened and no additional cases of meningitis have been reported. The final decision is a matter of informed personal choice. City of Berkeley Public Health Officials and medical experts strongly encourage community members to carefully assess their real risk of exposure before deciding to take medication because medicating unnecessarily sometimes leads to medical complications such as liver problems and, most importantly, antibiotic resistance.
Many different viruses can cause meningitis.
Herpes viruses and the mumps virus can also cause viral meningitis. Viral meningitis is usually diagnosed by laboratory tests of spinal fluid obtained with a spinal tap. It can also be diagnosed by tests that identify the virus in specimens collected from the patient, but these tests are not usually done. The viruses that cause viral meningitis are contagious. Enteroviruses, for example, are very common during the summer and early fall, and many people are exposed to them.