Two Children Monitored for Deadly Disease

VAN NUYS —  Two San Fernando Valley children may have contracted the deadly disease that recently killed two girls in Orange County but tests so far are inconclusive, officials of Valley Presbyterian Hospital said Friday.

An 8-year-old Sun Valley girl and a 20-month-old Van Nuys boy were admitted to the hospital earlier this week with symptoms associated with meningococcemia, a rare and potentially lethal form of meningitis.

During a Friday morning press conference at the hospital, Dr. Peter Liu, who is caring for the children, said they are both in “stable, good” condition.

Lab cultures for the bacteria were negative, but “the results of the tests can take several days,” he said.

Health authorities may never find out for sure whether the children contracted meningococcemia. Dr. David Dassey, of the county Department of Health Services communicable disease control, said blood and spinal fluid cultures for the disease are often inconclusive with doctors relying more on apparent symptoms of the disease. Those symptoms include a purplish skin rash over the entire body, a sudden high fever, stiff muscles, a severe and persistent headache and feelings of drowsiness or stupor.

The children have been receiving antibiotics and appear to be recovering, Liu said. The infection is no longer contagious and the children’s families have remained nearby. Liu said the children will probably be discharged in a matter of days.

The children’s families declined to be interviewed.

There were 60 reported cases of meningococcemia in Los Angeles County last year, according to the county Health Department. There have been 14 confirmed cases in the county so far this year but no deaths.

Orange County has reported six confirmed cases this year: two were fatal, and one victim’s condition was listed as critical but stable on Friday.

Meningococcemia is spread through saliva and can kill in as little as 24 hours if left untreated. The disease invades the blood and tissues around the spinal cord and brain, which can swell and eventually induce a coma. Those with fragile immune systems, such as the elderly and the very young, are most at risk.

Dassey said the reason behind the recent rise in the number of cases is the weather.

“In the winter months all respiratory infections go up because we’re spending more time indoors” which makes us more susceptible to others’ airborne germs, he said. But Dassey insisted this spate of cases does not constitute an outbreak, and said that because the disease is rare, people should not worry.

“There are a lot more important things that people should be scared of, like auto accidents and cigarettes,” he said.