Schools

Meningitis Ruled Out at Farmington Hills Elementary School

Wood Creek Elementary got a thorough scrubbing after a parent reported a child possibly sick with meningitis.

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FARMINGTON HILLS, MI – Parents of students at Farmington Public Schools’ Wood Creek Elementary can breathe a sigh of relief: A second-grader who fell ill doesn’t have meningitis.

School custodians gave the school a thorough cleaning after a parent notified officials that the student might have meningitis, but a visit to the doctor ruled that out, The Farmington Observer reported. The child has some other, unspecified type of infection.

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At least one Metro Detroit news outlet reported the meningitis scare, but that report was incorrect.

Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

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Meningitis may develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria or viruses, but meningitis can also be caused by physical injury, cancer or certain drugs.

The severity of illness and the treatment for meningitis differ depending on the cause.

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