Preschool teacher diagnosed with viral meningitis

MEDFORD, Mass. -- A local preschool is dealing with a health scare.

A teacher at the Six Acres Nursery School in Medford was recently diagnosed with viral meningitis.

This news comes just days after a middle school in Wakefield said a staff member there had bacterial meningitis.

The school pointed out that state health officials said they would not have to shut down the school as the case is viral rather than bacterial meningitis. However, they shut the school down today just in case.

Over 100 families were asked to keep their children home on Tuesday.

The illness is much less serious than bacterial meningitis, but school officials decided to shut down for the parents’ peace of mind.

“We knew the parents would be really worried. We have very young children...So we felt that we’re private, we can close if we need to, and we’ll add a day on later for them to make it up,” said Carol Stoffel, director of the Six Acres Nursery School.

School officials felt that parents might be extra sensitive about the issue because a teacher in nearby Wakefield was diagnosed with the more serious and more contagious bacterial meningitis just last week.

The Six Acres Nursery School also saw one of the first cases of H1N1 flu.

Officials felt that a dose of cleaning would help with this illness.

“We all stayed, all the teachers cleaned and sanitized, the janitor did his bit, and we’re ready for tomorrow,” said Stoffel.

A letter was sent out to parents explaining that the case was viral rather than bacterial meningitis, and assured them that their children would be safe at school tomorrow.

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