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Twelve-year-old Kaela DeJesus, a seventh-grader at William G. Rohrer Middle School, Haddon Township died Saturday after battling pneumococcal meningitis, the school district said.
The girl complained of an earache on Wednesday and by Friday school officials were notified of Kaela’s illness and sent a note home to middle school parents the same day, local media sources reported.
The girl died at Cooper University Hospital in Camden from pneumococcal meningitis.
According to Schools Superintendent Mark Raivets, this type of meningitis is not considered contagious, but as a precaution, crews disinfected William G. Rohrer Middle School where the girl was a student. Officials also disinfected Strawbridge Elementary School, where her brother is a student, and the high school, where her stepbrother is in ninth grade.
"If it had been contagious, we would have shut down the school," Raivets said.
He also said that people who come in contact with Kaela’s type of meningitis do not need treatment, but urged parents to contact their physicians if they are worried.
Grief counselors were available at the school on Saturday and will be there all day on Monday, February 11.
Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, feeling tired and confusion.
According to the National Institute of Health, pneumococcal meningitis often comes on very quickly. The faster the patient is treated, the more likely there will be a good outcome.
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