Student Out of ICU, Recovering From Meningitis

A male student at Windham High School who was diagnosed with Meningococcal Meningitis on Friday is out of the Intensive Care Unit and recovering, according to Principal Tom Murphy.

Murphy said that the student, who he is unable to name due to confidentiality reasons, left ICU this morning and a release from the hospital at the end of the week is anticipated. That information was shared today to students and faculty.

"It's terrific news," Murphy said. "I don't need to tell you that this is not a good strain." Murphy added that this form of the infection is not highly contagious, but it can be very bad from an impact side of things.

Murphy said that this is the first case of meningitis reported since Windham High School opened.

The possible meningitis case was first reported to a school secretary by a parent's phone message on Friday at 12:15 p.m. The school received confirmation 15 minutes later that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services was investigating a meningitis issue.

Murphy said that DHSS then started implementing protocols to determine who would be considered close contacts to the student.

Faculty was later brought up to speed, and Murphy remained in contact with DHSS throughout the weekend, with other names added to the close contact list when needed. Parents were also informed through an AlertNow message.

On Sunday, Murphy met with his leadership team at WHS to talk about protocols for kids returning to school. Unlike typical Mondays, advisory was held to inform the students of the situation and take any questions.

The student in question will not return to WHS without medical clearance.

Murphy praised the work of the DHSS through the process.

"The Department of Public Health has been unbelievable," he said. "They've been accessible to all of our parents and us."