THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220258
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Vaccinations of students and staff members at Norfolk Academy went smoothly Tuesday, thanks in part to the help of parents and other volunteers, health officials reported.
By 11:30 a.m., shots to prevent infection with meningococcal disease had been administered to most of the estimated 1,300 people eligible, said Betty Rouse, a regional epidemiologist with the state health department.
Those eligible who missed the session can get the shot today at the Norfolk Health Department's Little Creek office, 7665 Sewells Point Road, 683-2796; or at the Virginia Beach Health Department, 3432 Virginia Beach Blvd., 431-3500.
Also on Tuesday, Chesapeake Health Department officials set up shop at Kidstown Day Care in the city to administer prescriptions for antibiotics and answer parents' questions. A 6-year-old boy who had visited the center had come down with meningococcal disease.
The Chesapeake case is not related to the Norfolk Academy cases and involves a different strain of the illness, health officials said.
The boy's mother, who works at the day-care center, had brought him there last week shortly before he was diagnosed. Health workers have administered antibiotics to the children at the center as a precautionary measure, and Chesapeake Health Director Nancy M. Welch says no more cases are expected.
One of two Norfolk Academy students diagnosed with the disease, D.A. Taylor, died Monday. Officials believe he contracted the disease at a track meet Feb. 11 in Alexandria. A Northern Virginia student at the same meet also died.
Last week, Norfolk Academy student Hannon Wright developed the same strain of the disease. Wright is making a quick recovery.
Three other people have been stricken in Hampton Roads since Jan. 1, and have recovered:
A student from a Norfolk public school.
A 15-month-old from Chesapeake.
A 16-year-old Virginia Beach high school student.
The cases are not related to Norfolk Academy's or to each other, officials said. In each case, people in close contact were given preventive treatment. by CNB