Mystery illness sent 8 Marine Recruits to hospital

8 Marine recruits tested for meningitis, released
CBS 8
Posted: Mar 07, 2014

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Eight Marine recruits who were hospitalized in isolation at Naval Medical Center San Diego overnight for treatment of meningitis were released early Friday after medical tests for the disease came back negative, a center spokeswoman said.

The recruits, whose names and hometowns were not released, were admitted to the center's emergency room around 9 p.m. Thursday and released back to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego this morning, said Sonja Hanson, a public affairs officer for the medical center.

According to Hanson, the recruits all presented similar symptoms, including some common with an upper respiratory infection. Five appeared to have more severe cases and were given medication to prevent illness, she said.

While the Marines were in isolation rooms within the center, tests were run to determine whether they had bacterial or viral meningitis.

Meningitis attacks the protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Viral meningitis is generally less severe, while the bacterial form of the illness can result in brain damage, hearing loss or learning disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The tests conducted overnight turned out negative for both forms of the disease, Hanson said.
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Romney’s lax regulation may have fueled meningitis outbreak

While smaller government always sounds good to most people, this is what can happen when the smaller government does not do what they are supposed to do.

Romney’s lax regulation may have fueled meningitis outbreak
A meningitis epidemic that has killed 25 is linked to a Mass. company Romney's administration failed to regulate
Salon.com
BY CRAIG UNGER
OCT 30, 2012

The fatal meningitis epidemic sweeping the United States can now be traced to the failure of then-Gov. Mitt Romney to adequately regulate the Massachusetts pharmaceutical company that is being blamed for the deaths.

At least 344 people in 18 states have been infected by the growing public health crisis and 25 have died so far.

But the epidemic may also play a role in the presidential campaign, now that state records reveal that a Massachusetts regulatory agency found that the New England Compounding Co., the pharmaceutical company tied to the epidemic, repeatedly failed to meet accepted standards in 2004 — but a reprimand was withdrawn by the Romney administration in apparent deference to the company’s business interests.

“It goes all the way up to Mitt Romney,” said Alyson Oliver, a Michigan attorney representing victims of the outbreak. According to Oliver, on at least six occasions, NECC was cited by authorities for failure to meet regulatory standards and almost subjected to a three-year probation. “It goes directly to the heart of what Romney says about regulation, ‘Hands off. Let the companies do their thing.’”
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Army had contract with firm tied to meningitis

Army signed contract with firm tied to outbreak
Ameridose voluntarily halted production after meningitis outbreak began
By Walter F. Roche
The Tennessean
Posted : Tuesday Oct 16, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Army recently signed an exclusive, five-year purchasing agreement with a Massachusetts company that has shut down in the midst of a meningitis outbreak.

The sole-source purchase agreement with Ameridose LLC was issued June 29 by the U.S. Army Medical Command. The contract is to supply specialized compounded pharmaceutical products for the pediatric intensive care unit at the Army’s Tripler Medical Center in Honolulu.

Ameridose voluntarily halted production last week at its Westborough, Mass., plant under an agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Massachusetts Health Department.
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Young Marine dies of suspected case of meningitis at Parris Island

Parris Island Marine recruit dies of apparent meningitis

By Savannah Morning News
A 19-year-old Marine recruit died Saturday of a suspected case of meningitis at Parris Island, S.C.’s Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
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Parris Island Marine recruit dies of apparent meningitis

2 more illnesses tied to Fort Leonard Wood

2 more illnesses tied to Leonard Wood
By Jim Salter - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 19, 2009 21:30:57 EST

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Two more people with ties to Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Army base were treated for meningitis-like symptoms, raising more concerns at the base where two soldiers have died this month from the disease.

Both soldiers died of a bacterial form of the illness. Speaking Thursday first at a news conference and then at a community forum, base officials said they had just learned of two additional possible cases.

A male nurse on the base was diagnosed with viral meningitis, but responded well to treatment and was expected to be released soon from an off-base hospital, said Lt. Col. John Lowery, the base medical director.
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1 dead, 1 ill with meningitis at Fort Leonard Wood

1 dead, 1 ill with meningitis at Leonard Wood
By Jim Salter - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 16, 2009 15:07:21 EST

ST. LOUIS — Meningitis cases at Fort Leonard Wood have left a soldier dead and another “very seriously ill,” according to officials at the southern Missouri Army base.

Fort Leonard Wood officials announced the meningitis cases in a news release Sunday. Few details were released, including names of either victim. Calls on Monday to a media spokesman at the base were not returned.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. It kills about 300 people in the U.S. each year.

At Fort Leonard Wood, both illnesses involved noncontagious forms of meningitis, authorities said. The two soldiers were members of the same unit, but no connection has been found between the cases.

“Although difficult to comprehend, all clinical data show these cases are unrelated and purely coincidental,” Lt. Col. John Lowery, deputy commander for clinical services at Fort Leonard Wood, said in a written statement.

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UPDATE

2nd soldier at Leonard Wood dies of meningitis

By Jim Salter - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Feb 17, 2009 15:57:26 EST

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — A second soldier stationed at the Army’s Fort Leonard Wood has died of meningitis, officials said Tuesday.

Leonard Wood officials said Pvt. Randy Stabnick, 28, of South Bend, Ind., died Tuesday at a hospital in Springfield.

Another soldier from the base died Feb. 9. His name has not been released.

“The soldiers and their families continue to be in our prayers today,” Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin, commanding general of Maneuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood, said in a statement.

Base officials said both soldiers had a non-contagious form of meningitis.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_meningitis_leonard_wood_021709/

Death of solider believed caused by meningitis

Death of solider believed caused by meningitis

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 13, 2008 11:13:34 EST

SEOUL, South Korea — An American soldier has died in South Korea after contracting what health officials presume was meningitis, the U.S. military said Sunday.

Army Pvt. Jason L. Williams, 19, from Colorado died Saturday at a U.S. military hospital in Seoul, the 2nd Infantry Division said in a statement.

Williams “displayed symptoms of someone that might have suffered from meningitis,” the statement said.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_meningitis_080113/