Students at Kalamalka Secondary School near Vernon will be offered a vaccine Thursday to help prevent the spread of meningitis.
Officials are working to prevent further cases of the illness after a student became sick with bacterial meningitis last week.
The 16-year-old was transported to a Vancouver area hospital and was placed in a medically-induced coma while her body fights the illness.
“This particular bacteria… causes more severe cases,” said IHA medical health officer Karin Goodison. “We do see fatality rates as high as 10 to 15 per cent.”
Get weekly health news
Interior Health says the risk of acquiring meningitis is very low.
“In order to share this bacteria, you really have to, what I call, swap spit,” Goodison said. “You have to share your saliva or nasal mucosa. A droplet from them has to land on your nose or in your mouth. So you do that by sharing glasses, by sharing utensils by kissing.”
Interior Health is working closely with the school to locate anyone who may have been around the student who is ill and offering them antibiotics.
Vaccination will begin at Kalamalka Secondary Thursday.
Interior Health is working on finding any possible link between the student from Coldstream, a community next to Vernon, and two south Okanagan secondary students who became ill with meningitis last month.
Sharing drinks, cigarettes and other objects mouth-to-mouth is discouraged.
Comments