KENOSHA - Parents were on high alert after a high school student died Saturday from meningitis.

The Pleasant Prairie boy came down with a severe headache, and 12 hours later, he was dead.

Alex Knutter, 17, was a senior at Tremper High School. His parents say he was a good kid with an awesome personality.

Jeff and Donna Knutter said it all happened very quickly. They sent Alex to bed Friday night with a couple of aspirins. By the next morning, he woke up and threw up once. The next thing they knew, Alex collapsed and they started doing CPR.

Tests results Monday confirmed that Alex died of meningitis. Tremper students learned about his death that day.

"He was a good kid," Zach Campbell, Kenosha Tremper Senior, said.

"I'm sorry for his parents and I hope they're getting through this," Campbell added.

A letter was sent home to worried parents about the symptoms of bacterial meningitis. They include high fever, severe headaches, vomiting and a stiff neck.

Meningitis is highly contagious. It can be spread by sharing eating and drinking utensils, kissing or having direct contact with someones saliva and respiratory secretions.

The letter to parents says the bacteria can cause an infection of the bloodstream and cause inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord and brain.

Cases of disease from the organism are rare. People can have the bacterium in the nose and throat and never develop any illness.

The time interval between when a person first becomes infected and when they show signs of illness can range from 2-10 days but is usually 3 or 4 days.

Direct contact includes:
• Sharing eating or drinking utensils
• Sharing water bottles
• Kissing
• Sharing a cigarette
• Other direct contact with saliva or respiratory secretions

"People with these contacts should receive preventive treatment as a precautionary measure," the letter sent to parents says. "Casual classroom contacts of a case generally are NOT at risk for developing the disease."

Cindy Johnson's son Shawn is a sophomore at Tremper. The recent news has her concerned. Now she's having Shawn get vaccinated for meningitis.

"[The concern] is awful and he does all the sports I'm sure there is fluids going all around. It's scary," Cindy Johnson, tremper parent, exclaimed.

Health officials are confident nobody else at Tremper high school has bacterial meningitis, but they encourage all teenagers to get the vaccine. You can call your physician or your local health department. Kenosha County charges $7 for a shot.