One meningitis death reported in Valley
A Northern California man died in Sonoma Valley Wednesday, June 25 from an apparent case of meningitis. While the disease is serious, a county health official said this week that the public has little cause for alarm.
“We’re pretty comfortable that we got the people who need to be contacted – but on the other hand, there are going to be lots of rumors around,” said Dr. Leigh Hall, deputy Public Health Officer for Sonoma County, adding that the death was reported to his office by Sonoma Valley Hospital and antibiotics had been administered to everyone who’d been in close proximity to the decedent. “It’s a tragic situation, and it’s really awful when it happens, but it’s not an epidemic.”
Meningitis is a viral or bacterial infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and surrounding the brain. The incubation period, or time between infection and visible symptoms, is usually one to two days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Common symptoms are high fever, headache, and stiff neck, and may also include nausea, vomiting, confusion, sleepiness and light sensitivity.
Although some forms of meningitis can be transmitted through saliva exchange, none can be spread via more casual contact. Hall disputed published reports that the young man – whose identity was not released, but who had been temporarily residing in the Valley – had contracted the disease by sharing marijuana cigarettes at a recent Mendocino music festival.
“We don’t know where he contracted it, and there’s no way to tell,” Hall said. “’Catching it’ isn’t even the right word – more accurate is that for some reason, and at some point, the bacteria from this particular individual got into his bloodstream and he got sick.”
He added that, like staphylococcus, meningitis is carried by “a good percentage of people” but is not always problematic.
“We’ve got lots of bugs in our mouths and noses and on our skin,” he said. “When something happens to break down the barrier … bad things happen.”
Cavedale burn brings swift response
A five-acre fire in a steep canyon off Cavedale Road’s 4300 block scrambled responders from outside the Valley before being contained around 2:15 p.m. on June 24.
The first alarm rang at 12:20 p.m., for two engines from the Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Department, a tanker truck apiece from the Kenwood and Glen Ellen fire departments and an engine from the Highway 12 Cal Fire station. Not long afterward, dispatch summoned three additional water tenders from Schell-Vista, Bennett Valley and Santa Rosa, then another engine apiece from Rincon Valley and Kenwood.
Smoke from the blaze couldn’t be seen for the smoke already filling Sonoma Valley from hundreds of Northern California wildfires, still burning from the weekend’s lightning storms. A Cal Fire air tanker and spotting plane swooped overhead, and a helicopter made numerous water drops.
The fire reportedly began in scrub before spreading to adjacent trees. One person was treated at the Mayacamas Fire Station for a burn to the left hand. No other injuries were reported and no structures were lost. The cause was still under investigation at press time.
