R.I. students return as health scare abates

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- More than 20,000 Rhode Island students who missed classes last week because of a health scare returned to school Monday to a basic lesson they've heard before: Keep your hands clean.

Schools in Warwick, West Warwick and Coventry, Rhode Island, had been closed Thursday and Friday while health officials investigated several cases of encephalitis and meningitis.

To help prevent the spread of illness, the state doled out almost 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, said Elliot Kreiger, a Department of Education spokesman.

West Warwick Senior High Principal Wayne Talbot said workers at his school spent the better part of Sunday installing hand sanitizing stations in each classroom.

Students also received a quick review of proper hand-washing technique from their teachers Monday, Talbot said.

Three students in Warwick and West Warwick developed encephalitis in recent weeks, including a second-grader who died.

State officials allowed schools to reopen after test results showed a student from Coventry who contracted meningitis did not have the same virus implicated in the encephalitis cases.

Meningitis is an inflammation of membranes protecting the brain, and encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain itself.

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