IMPORTANT: Meningitis Contracted at White Party Leads to Death

[genericuser]

This is something that ALL of us should be aware of and I'd encourage those who attended the White Party or have interacted with people who attended to take this VERY seriously as ignoring it could mean the difference between life and death.

The Meningitis contracted by Brett Shaad at the White Party has led to his death (see article from WeHo Confidential below the LA Times article) as Shaad was removed from life support on the afternoon of 12 April 2013.

The LA Times headline powerfully describes how serious contracting Meningitis can be:

Meningitis scare: From 'fit as can be' to life support in one week

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-resident-in-coma-meningitis-20130412,0,6443231.story

A 31-year-old West Hollywood resident, who was described as being extremely fit only a week or so ago, is now in a coma and on life support after being diagnosed with "full-blown meningitis," city officials said.

Duran said one of his concerns is that the man attended the annual White Party in Palm Springs over Easter Weekend, an event that attracts gay men from across the country.

"What I'm worried about is the gay male community just had the White Party ... knowing that we've had lots of gay men in [from] New York ... we're very concerned because the White Party is known for being a weekend of fun, play, dance and sex," Duran said.

"We don't want to be alarmist ... but at the same time, we'd rather be alarmist than sit back and be criticized" for not doing anything, he said, adding that the man had indeed participated in the White Party in some fashion.

"I just saw him last week here in town, fit as can be, muscular," Duran said.

Earlier this week, the county's top health officer said it was unclear if "this is an outbreak, single case, whatever," and said more tests needed to be done to identify the exact strain found.

There are "apparently some similarities" to an especially deadly strain found in New York in recent years that has resulted in 22 cases, including seven fatalities since 2010, said Dr. Jonathan Fielding of the Department of Public Health.

WeHo Confidential Reports that Brett Shaad has Died

http://www.wehoconfidential.com/2013/04/rip-brett-shaad.html#.UWnUtz_RPxo

♥♥♥ RIP Brett Shaad ♥♥♥

The 1st victim of Meningitis in WeHo passed away today at 4:45pm after he was taken off of life support. Such a sad day in WeHo. He was truly beautiful.

We miss him already.It is very hard to loose one of your own. Brett Shaad was part of our community here in West Hollywood. We saw him at events. We saw him daily at the gym. We stood together fighting for equality. For those of us who knew him or just stood beside him, or didn't even know of him at all.... We have lost someone of our community who's time came way to soon. Life can end at any moment. Before we snicker, before we fight, point fingers, act mean, form groups, exclude, shun, or anything but be there for one another- Let's remember that we are a community. Let us be there for each other. RIP Bret ♥

I would encourage everyone to read the comment section of the WeHo Confidential story because you may gain some insight to his lifestyle.

What Should You Do If You Went To the White Party or Have Had Sex with Someone Who Did:

White Party attendees urged to get meningitis vaccine after West Hollywood lawyer dies

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/white-party-attendees-urged-get-meningitis-vaccine-after-west-hollywood-lawyer-dies130413

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and the most common symptoms are headache, fever, neck stiffness, confusion, vomiting and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises.

Meningitis is spread by close contact with nose and throat discharges from a person who is infected. Close contact includes living in the same household as an infected person or intimate activities, including kissing and sexual contact.

The Meningitis vaccine will prevent invasive meningococcal disease from taking root but does not treat the disease if a person is already infected.

[TattPig]

Just to set the record straight...No definitive connection has been established between this case and the White Party. Nobody knows if he contracted it there or not. They also don't know yet if this is connected with the strain in New York.

So let's not: a.) Jump the gun on where he got it, b.) let our guard down just because we didn't go to the White Party.

[SlimNotShady]

Thanks for the post on this and to TatPig.

Just to set the record straight...No definitive connection has been established between this case and the White Party. Nobody knows if he contracted it there or not. They also don't know yet if this is connected with the strain in New York.

So let's not: a.) Jump the gun on where he got it' date=' b.) let our guard down just because we didn't go to the White Party.[/quote']

Also as per the article links, the best thing is diligence! Check with your local doctors regarding your own situation first, and take the appropriate action medically. Just because the guy concerned was at the White Party does not mean it was contracted there. Every case is different and the worst thing to do. is panic.

Cheers, Slim (My partner & I have worked in this area for over 15 years)

[genericuser]

Just to set the record straight...No definitive connection has been established between this case and the White Party. Nobody knows if he contracted it there or not. They also don't know yet if this is connected with the strain in New York.

Wow, you must have worked for the cigarette companies in the 80's to throw that kind of spin out there...

So let's not: a.) Jump the gun on where he got it, b.) let our guard down just because we didn't go to the White Party.

I absolutely agree with b.) and was surprised that you included it. I think that the more awareness about both the incidents in NY and the likely exposure at the White Party leading to the death in LA is most critically important. A "patient zero" has not been established on either coast of the US to allow for further documentation of the spreading of this strain of meningitis.

If you have friends that attended the White Party, take the time to check-in with them and see how they are doing; I know I have. While no one is trying to cause a panic, think of it as an opportunity to catch up with a friend.

[TattPig]

My only point was that it is inaccurate at this point to claim that he contracted meningitis at the White Party. You have no idea where he got it--no one does, yet. It was wrong for you to claim--at this point--that he got it at the White Party.

I wasn't trying to "spin" anything and you shouldn't be "surprised" at my second point. I was simply trying to set the record straight. If people get lulled into complacency and feel safe just because they didn't go to the White Party, that's dangerous. This is very serious, and it is important to be accurate and stick to the facts--not unsubstantiated assumptions.

Edited April 15, 2013 by TattPig

[Guest SBBOY]

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE FAMILY.....

**Dear All, please spread this far and wide - give it wings**

Thank you the caring messages and compassion you have all expressed for

Brett, my family and his friends. No words can describe the loss we just

experienced, Brett was nothing but heart and he loved his family and his

friends with an unconditional love we were privileged to experience. He will

be deeply missed forever.

As many of you may be aware there has been huge amount of misinformation

about the time, circumstances and details of my brother's death driven by a

politically-motivated council member and inaccurate media reporting. This

was started by sensationalist and erroneous public statements made by

Councilman John Duran of West Hollywood, which were then reported by Ari

Bloomekatz of the LA Times, and subsequently put out internationally by the

Associated Press. This information was issued by Duran on pure rumor and

innuendo. At no point was our family contacted to confirm the information

publicly stated by Councilman Duran - and at no point did Ari Bloomekatz of

the LA Times or the Associated Press reach out to our family to confirm the

facts.

To add insult to injury, the first article published wasn't even about my

brother Brett. It was about Councilman John Duran, alongside a large, color

photo of the Councilman in the LA Times.

Other than basic information like my brother's name, age and occupation, the

rest of Duran's statement and the media articles that followed were

factually incorrect, including the time of his death; day admitted to

hospital; status of life support; and the strain of meningitis in question.

In fact, the strain mentioned has killed heterosexuals and homosexuals alike

since cases in NYC were first reported in 2010. This is not a gay desease.

With regards to his attendance at the White Party in Palm Springs we have no

evidence he even attended the party, as Councilman Duran claimed.

At a time when we should bave been focused totally on Brett's care, our

family spent a huge amount of time and energy trying to correct the news

reports that resulted from Duran's statements.

Eight days have now passed since Brett's first symptoms, and this still

remains an isolated case. My brother is not the Patient Zero to an epidemic

that Councilman Duran made him out to be. The article below, from the

Huffington Post Gets it right.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/james-peron/media-meningitis-gays_b_078413.html

The irresponsibility of Councilman Duran, the LA Times and the Associated

Press in announcing the death of my brother before we even had the chance to

tell family members and his friends outside of Los Angeles is outrageous.

There are a number steps we will be taking to ensure that politically-driven

actions by politicians and reckless reporting by the media can never do this

to another grieving family again.