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American Meningitis outbreak baffles health experts

Health officials are having trouble understanding the cause and course of 12 cases of a rare, virulent form of meningitis that has killed four people in South Florida since December.

The Miami-Dade Health Department would not release the names of those infected by the W135 strain of meningitis since December for privacy reasons. But it released general information about them, they are aged 21 and 85 and imclude British tourist Jade Thomas.

Eight other people have contracted the disease and survived.

Local, state and national health experts are baffled as to how a rare and deadly strain of meningitis killed four people and infected eight others in South Florida since December, an unprecedented outbreak in the United States.

The cases of the W135 strain of meningitis were disclosed Wednesday by Miami-Dade health officials. On Thursday, they were recommending vaccinations for those in high-risk groups -- mainly those living in close and crowded situations such as college dorms or military barracks.

The most recent reported case was earlier this month, a British tourist who died April 7. Though the county would not reveal names or specific details about any of the cases beyond age or gender, family members verified that the victim was Jade Thomas, a schoolteacher from Nottingham, England. She died while on vacation in Florida to celebrate her 26th birthday.

The strain can kill within hours of symptoms, and anyone experiencing severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck should see a doctor immediately.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. Besides death, the disease can lead to brain damage or amputation of the limbs if not caught in time.

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