ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
MEMO: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.
DARYL WOOD worked at Cross Creek Apparel in Floyd. His is the third case of meningitis in the New River Valley this year. The other two survived their bouts with the infection.
A Floyd County man died from bacterial meningitis Monday, bringing the number of New River Valley residents diagnosed with meningitis to three this year.
Daryl Wood, 32, went into the hospital Saturday and was sent to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital when his symptoms worsened, according to Dr. Jody Hershey, director of the New River Health District.
Woods worked at Cross Creek Apparel in Floyd. Employees, as well as Woods' family, have been tested for meningitis and given antibiotics as a preventive measure.
Three months ago, a teacher at Floyd County Vocational School came down with the disease, which affects the central nervous system. The teacher survived, and Hershey said there is no connection between the two cases in Floyd.
In February, a Radford University student also survived a bout with the infection.
Hershey said there were 194 cases of viral or bacterial meningitis in the state last year, five of them in the New River Valley.
Meningitis, which causes an inflammation of the brain, spreads through direct contact with nose and throat secretions.
It is not usually spread by casual contact, such as being in a classroom or socializing with the infected person. It takes prolonged contact such as sharing a drinking glass or toothbrush, kissing or living in the same household for an extended time.
Symptoms of meningitis often mimic flu symptoms, such as nausea and headache, but also include high fever, stiffness and sometimes sleepiness or confusion.
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB