Update: School District Sends Out Viral Meningitis Warning

A student in the  Massapequa High School's Ames campus has contracted viral meningitis, according to a letter sent out to parents Monday morning. 

The district received word about the case on Saturday and alerted the Nassau County Health Department, according to the letter from Superintendent Charles Sulc.

Viral meningitis is usually not considered as severe as bacterial meningitis.  Most people are exposed to the viruses that cause viral meningitis in their lifetimes, but few actually develop the disease.

Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck and fatigue.

The letter encourages students and staff to wash their hands thoroughly, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom.

Massapequa Superintendent Charles Sulc said that the building was given a "substantial cleaning" as a precaution over the weekend even though they found out later it wasn't bacterial meningitis. Sulc said the sick student "was doing well," according to his parents.

In May,  Massapequa High School's main campus was also scrubbed down, after a student was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis, the more serious form of the disease.

Bacterial meningitis also took the life of a Massapequa High School student in 2008.