Tuesday afternoon, University health officials identified a student living in the Living Learning Center South who had a “probable” case of meningococcal meningitis.
The student was hospitalized and tested positive for the bacteria. The University posted a message on its online UO Alert! system warning of the severity of the illness and advising those students who may have come in contact with the infected student to receive the one-pill dose of vaccination.
Jenny Soyke, interim medical director at the University Health Center, confirmed that while people with meningococcal meningitis have the potential of infecting others, the bacteria cannot live for more than a few minutes outside the body, so the disease is not spread as easily as the common cold.
Because of very strict confidentiality requirements, the health center was unable to comment on the identity of the hospitalized student but confirms that students from the Living Learning Center South and those in the sorority Chi Omega have been advised to receive the dose of antibody treatment if they have come into close contact with the student.
“We immediately called the friends who brought her in and advised them to come back to receive a dose of antibodies,” Soyke said.
The health center then started the process of notifying all residence halls, complex directors and employed student life personnel of the confirmed case and advice on how to treat it and to provide information students should be aware of.
Transmitted through respiratory droplets, Soyke said meningitis typically infects those with extended face-to-face interaction or those who come into contact with saliva through kissing or sharing cups and utensils of an infected individual.
Meningococcal meningitis is a very serious disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that about 9 percent to 12 percent of persons with meningococcal disease die even with appropriate antibiotic treatment, but Soyke said there is a lot of variation in its severity.
“There is no such prediction process,” Soyke said. “Someone can take weeks to get better, others can get better faster; it all has to do with their previous condition. However, it is a potentially very serious illness.”
Soyke says that common symptoms of the virus are high fever, headache, a stiff or rigid neck, nausea, vomiting and discomfort when looking into bright lights.
Immunization to meningococcal meningitis can be received through the health center, and any students who think they may have come into contact with the illness should see a physician.
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