Just four days before University junior Lill Pagenstecher,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Pagenstecher@@ 21, died Friday evening, she was making plans to catch up with old friends and attempting to locate her lost wallet.

“I just saw Lill on Monday,” said Alex Baldridge,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Baldridge@@ University junior and a friend of Pagenstecher’s. “Then, I got the terrible news on Friday night. Man, life is short.”
Pagenstecher died abruptly Friday of bacterial meningitis,@@checked@@ according to University spokeswoman Julie Brown.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Julie+Brown@@ The death has brought awareness to the infection and how it can easily spread in sorority and fraternity houses as well as campus residence halls.
The last death the University has seen attributed to meningitis happened in 2001, when 19-year-old Jill Dieringer contracted the infection.@@checked@@ Dieringer was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority and also lived in Hamilton residence hall. No other cases spawned from the incident.
Earlier this month, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., died after complications @@checked@@from a meningococcal disease, a common cause of meningitis.
According to the Meningitis Foundation of America,@@http://meningitisfoundationofamerica.org/templates/@@ Greek Like and residence halls are commonly where bacterial meningitis is contracted not only because they contain high concentrations of people but also because of their lifestyles as well.
“College freshman who live in closed quarters such as residence halls, fraternities and sororities are at an increased risk due to the temptation to share,” the foundation’s website said. “The college lifestyle often involves late nights, partying, or social and educational stress, thus weakening the immune system.”
Dr. Alex Morley, a medical adviser at Eugene Urgent Care, @@http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdbYfSLBPOGoAEphXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1NHBsYW9sBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDA0OF8yMDA-/SIG=11th43ebq/EXP=1336981663/**http%3a//www.eugeneurgentcare.com/pr-01.htm@@ said although meningitis is highly contagious in areas described above, it is commonly controlled. He said the vaccination is a single-dose antibiotic or a shot depending on preference.
“We’ve never seen outbreaks of meningitis before,” Morley said, “but we don’t want to. Students need to be careful.”
The infection’s symptoms mock those of a flu or a common cold — fever, rash, fatigue, severe headache, nausea and vomiting — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. @@checked@@If not treated immediately, the infection can prove fatal.
Morley also says that because of Pagenstecher’s involvement in Greek Like, anyone who was in direct contact — such as sharing a drink or kissing — with her within the past seven days is at risk of contracting the disease and has to be extra careful.
“If you get a fever, go and get it checked out,” he said. “If you get really sick right after, go straight to the ER. It’s not worth the risk.”
In a study conducted by the New England Journal of Medicine, @@checked@@about 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis were reported each year in the United States from 2003-2007, including 500 deaths.@@checked@@ Morley said he has seen four cases of the disease. Two of those were college-aged young adults, and one was fatal. The other survived with severe neurological damage.
Many college students are required to get a booster shot containing the vaccine before their freshman year. The University recommends students get vaccinated for meningitis, but it is not required.  Even still, some people’s immune systems, Morley said, cannot handle the infection no matter what they do to combat it.
Any person who recently had close contact with Pagenstecher should go to the University Health Center, Eugene Urgent Care or Sacred Heart Medical Center.