When freshman Jill Dieringer went to the University Health Center last February, doctors had no idea the sore throat she complained of was an early symptom of a deadly disease.
They sent her home, believing she had nothing more serious than a case of the common cold or flu. But the next day, Dieringer checked herself into Sacred Heart Medical Center with a severe headache and fever.
Less than two days later, she was dead.
Blood tests revealed the 19-year-old had contracted meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection that can be spread through kissing, coughing, sharing utensils or other close oral contact. Many times, the disease leads to meningitis, an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
University officials were baffled as to how Dieringer caught the disease. Her boyfriend, sorority sisters and other students living in her residence hall were not infected. And although a handful of other meningitis-related illnesses were reported in the Northwest after her death, none involved University students.
While it may never be clear exactly how Dieringer contracted the disease, new research suggests her living situation may have put her at a greater risk for meningitis than other college students.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month, freshmen living in residence halls are more susceptible to contracting meningitis than other college students.
Authors speculated that the close living quarters in residence halls cause the disease to spread more easily than in other college living situations.
For reasons that were unclear, researchers also found that college students were less likely to contract the disease than non-students of the same age.
In the report, authors wrote that vaccinating incoming freshman could “substantially decrease” the number of meningitis outbreaks on college campuses.
But the solution to the problem may not be that simple, said health center Director Dr. Gerald Fleischli. Meningitis comes in many forms, he said, and of those strains prevalent in the Northwest, only about 30 percent can be prevented with the vaccine.
University officials are not recommending or requiring incoming students to get the vaccine, he added, but are simply advising them “to be aware of it.”
Fleischli and University Housing Director Michael Eyster have written a handout describing meningococcal disease, which will be distributed to all students who move into University housing, Eyster said.
Because there are no definite answers as to why meningitis is more common in college residence halls than in other close living situations such as fraternities and sororities, it is difficult to tell students how to reduce their risk, he said.
All housing officials can do, Eyster said, is encourage students to practice good sanitation and health habits, and let them know that the vaccine is available — if they choose to get it.
“We’re taking the position that [the decision to get the vaccine] is an individual decision that families and students should make in consultation with their family doctor and the health center,” he said.