Meningitis case reported at Fort Leonard Wood

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- A 2-year-old boy from Fort Leonard Wood has been diagnosed with meningitis, but Army medical officials said the case appears unrelated to an outbreak that killed a 12-year-old boy in March.

The toddler was listed in stable condition Thursday at a Columbia hospital.

Because the boy attended the Fort Leonard Wood Child Development Center, the center's staff and all of the children who have been in the center since Aug. 1 are being given injections of antibiotics as a precaution, fort officials said.

Five cases of bacterial meningitis were reported at the fort this past spring, including the case involving the 12-year-old.

The other four cases involved soldiers or sailors, all of whom recovered.

"Due to the time span between the previous cases and this particular case, and, the fact this is an entirely different portion of the post population, there is no discernable link," said Lt. Col. Michael Deaton, deputy commander of clinical services. "While every illness such as this gives us reason to be concerned, there is no cause for alarm."