News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:	Friday, May 31, 1996
Contact:	Tom Brannan, Assistant City Manager, (703) 838-4300, pager: (703) 701-2548; Dr. Joshua Lipsman, Health Director, Alexandria Health Department, (703) 838-4872

Alexandria Health Officials Seek Assistance of News Media in Locating Former Residents of Alexandria Community Shelter Who May Have Been Exposed to Contagious Meningitis

Officials of the Alexandria Health Department are requesting the
assistance of the news media in locating families and individuals who
resided at the Alexandria Community Shelter, 2355 Mill Road, Alexandria,
between May 15 and May 24. Residents as well as staff and volunteers at
the shelter during that 10-day period may have been exposed to a
contagious form of meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis) that is rare but
potentially life-threatening if not treated.

Health officials in Alexandria issued this alert after they were
advised that an individual who resided at the shelter until May 24 was
diagnosed with the contagious disease.

Health officials have identified 60 to 70 shelter residents who were
at the facility during the period May 15-24, as well as shelter employees
and volunteers who may have been exposed during the 10-day period when the
disease was contagious. Because the whereabouts of up to 20 former
residents may not be known, health officials are requesting anyone who
lived at the shelter between May 15 and May 24 to call the Health
Department's Hotline -- (703) 838-4400, ext. 420, for treatment
information.

Staff and volunteers who work at the shelter have also been
identified and located. Beginning tomorrow morning, they, along with
residents who lived at the shelter between May 15 and May 24, will begin
to receive the required treatment, which is four doses of the medication
Rifampin over a two-day period.

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