Meningitis has been ruled out as the cause of death of a high school student who attended a statewide agricultural field day at UC Davis Feb. 27, according to the county's health department.

Dr. Michael MacLean, health officer for Kings County, says blood tests ruled out meningitis as the cause of the March 2 death of Philip Chism of Lemoore High School.

The health department had been treating the death as a probable case of bacterial meningitis pending the results of laboratory tests.

MacLean, who said in a Tuesday interview that the cause of death had not yet been determined, added, "It is unlikely that the cause of death would be a public health concern."

Last week, UC Davis contacted UC Davis students, faculty and staff who may have had contact with Chism to alert them to the possible exposure to bacterial meningitis.

The campus News Service also issued a release to inform the media and public about the case.

Michael O'Malley, director of Employee Health Services, said only one employee, who was involved with the field day, came in with concerns about possibly being exposed to the disease.