Rhode Island officials canceled school Thursday and Friday for more than 20,000 students because of a suspected case of meningitis and the death of a second-grader from encephalitis.

Health experts are trying to determine whether the cases are connected.

“Given the parents’ concerns and our concerns, we felt that out of abundance of caution we would keep schools closed for the next two days,” said Dr. David Gifford, state public health director.

In addition, the Catholic Diocese of Providence closed eight schools in three communities, with a combined 2,600 students, as a precaution. No cases of meningitis or encephalitis have been reported among the students, said diocese spokesman Michael Guilfoyle.

The case of suspected meningitis was reported earlier this week in an unidentified student in Coventry. Also, two weeks ago, Dylan Gleavey, a Warwick elementary school student, died of encephalitis. A classmate of hers and a girl at a West Warwick school also contracted encephalitis but have since recovered.

Dylan’s encephalitis was brought on by “walking pneumonia,” a common illness that in rare cases can lead to meningitis or encephalitis.

Meningitis is a dangerous inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain.

More epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headed to the state to assist the half-dozen scientists already in Rhode Island.

Health investigators said they will spend the next few days talking to school nurses and looking for possible additional cases in hospitals.

How meningitis is spread

Organisms that cause meningitis can be passed from one person to another or passed from rodents and insects to people. However, exposure to an organism that causes meningitis does not mean you will get the infection.

Organisms can be passed from one person to another:

• During birth. A mother can pass organisms that cause meningitis to her baby even if the mother does not have symptoms. Delivering a baby by caesarean section rather than through the birth canal does not always protect the baby from getting the infection. Organisms such as enteroviruses, group B streptococci, and Escherichia (E.) coli can be transmitted this way.
• Through stool. The enteroviruses and some bacteria (for example, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli) can be transmitted in this manner. More children than adults get meningitis this way.
• Through coughing and sneezing. Infected people can pass certain bacteria that are normally found in their noses and throats (such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis) through saliva or mucus.

SOURCE:BCHEALTHGUIDE, MSNBC

A leading children’s author has spoken out against mothers for hindering their child’s long-term development by returning to work soon after having children.

Michael Morpungo, former laureate criticised working mothers for not spending enough time with their children during the important early years of life, arguing one in ten young people are suffering from mental health problems, anorexia and sleep disorders.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was astounded to find mothers sent their children to school at four or five years of age.

“We pack our children off to care groups or even to school, but many countries in Europe do not send their children until they are seven,” he said. “They live in the bosom of their family. That is where they are nurtured – within the nest. That is where they can grow their wings, they can learn to fly.”

Mr Morpungo who received an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honour’s List for his services to literature said: “It is utterly extraordinary now how many children grow up without their mothers around them. You have got 50 per cent of mothers these days of children under five who are employed outside the home. Well, you are cutting off something there, whether you like it or not, and it may be an uncomfortable thing to recognise.”

Research by Professor Michael Lamb supports these claims. He determined nurseries disrupted children’s happiness and well-being causing unwanted distress after finding levels of the stress hormone doubled during the first nine days in child care without a mother present and continued to increase for five months after in comparison to those that stayed at home.

I have to say that I am fortunate to be able to stay at home with my son. Before I got pregnant, I thought that a year off with my baby would be enough and I would want to go back to work. That has all changed. I could not imagine anyone else experiencing all of his wonderful firsts.

We are very lucky in Canada to get a full year off for maternity leave. The United States has got to increase their maternity leave for new moms. It is just not fair to these women who have barely had enough time to recover from childbirth to go back after 12 weeks. I would have had a nervous breakdown if I had to leave him with a daycare provider at such a young age.

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Maternity Leave

SOURCE:FEMALEFIRST

After coming under fire for denying a Chinese-American infant a $25,000 prize in a New Year’s baby contest because her mother was not a legal U.S. resident, the Toys “R” Us company said Saturday evening that it had reversed its decision.

The Wayne, N.J.-based company said it would award each of the three babies in the grand prize pool of the “First Baby of the Year Sweepstakes” a $25,000 savings bond. Toys “R” us is the parent company of Babies “R” Us, which sponsored the contest.

Toys “R” Us, which opened its first mainland China store less than a month ago, changed its mind after Chinese-American advocates protested and the story was reported in ethnic newspapers and The New York Times among other outlets.

“We love all babies,” the company said in a written statement Saturday. “Our sweepstakes was intended to welcome the first baby of 2007 and prepare for its future. We deeply regret that this sweepstakes became a point of controversy.”

The prize was originally supposed to go to Yuki Lin, who was born at the stroke of midnight at New York Downtown Hospital, according to hospital officials.

She won a random drawing with two other babies for the $25,000 savings bond, said Toys “R” Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh. The company had said it would go to the first American baby born in 2007.

Yuki was born an American citizen. But the company disqualified her because “the sweepstakes administrator was informed that the mother of the baby born at New York Downtown Hospital was not a legal resident of the United States,” Waugh said.

Although promotional materials called for “all expectant New Year’s mothers” to apply, Waugh said eligibility rules required babies’ mothers to be legal residents. Many sweepstakes have such requirements, Waugh said.

Attempts to reach Yuki’s parents, Yan Zhu Liu and Han Lin, 22, were unsuccessful Saturday. Their immigration status was not clear.

The original prize was instead awarded to runner-up Jayden Swain, born 19 seconds after midnight at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Ga. The third baby in the running was born in Bay Shore, N.Y., to a couple from El Salvador.

If the baby is an American citizen the prize should be awarded to her. Sometimes these big corporations get too tied up with the fine print. The baby should get the bond, which will probably be cash able when she turns a certain age.

SOURCE:FOXNEWS