Viral meningitis may be caused by a variety of viruses.

Symptoms usually consist of headache, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, and low-grade fever. Sometimes a rash may appear. A stiff neck, respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms also occur.

Variable, determined by the causative agent, usually two to ten days.

Viral meningitis can be transmitted by failure to wash hands after toileting or other contact with infected stool. Most frequently viral meningitis is due to a viral infection in the stomach and intestine(enteroviruses); also by direct contact with nose and throat secretions of a person carrying the virus, e.g., kissing on the mouth, drinking from a shared glass or straw, sharing eating utensils, coughing or sneezing directly into the face of another person; a small number of cases are transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes or ticks(arboviruses).

Vary with the type of infectious agent.

Teach importance of basic hygiene, especially covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing; not sharing glasses, straws, eating utensils; disposing of used tissues properly; washing hands after handling soiled tissues and after toileting. Prophylactic antibiotics are of no value.

Exclude student from school until clinical recovery, i.e., absence of fever.