A University student died Saturday at the University Medical Center from meningitis. University officials emphasized that the chance of community members becoming infected is slight, and that those who were close to the student have been given antibiotics as a precaution. University officials declined to comment on the identity of the student, as the student's parents requested no personal information be released.
James Turner, executive director of Student Health, said the student was admitted to the University Medical Center Friday.
Turner described meningitis--an ailment which causes swelling of the brain and spinal cord--as a "devastating" infection, even for the young.
"It can take a young person very quickly--in a matter of hours," Turner said. "It's a dreadful disease."
Turner said the type of meningitis that infected the student could not be conclusively determined through testing.
Lilian Peake, district health director for the Thomas Jefferson Health District, said meningitis can be caused by either bacteria or a virus.
In some cases, medical officials must administer antibiotics before all necessary testing samples can be collected from a patient, thus impeding efforts to determine the exact cause of the ailment, Turner said.
According to a message distributed by Pat Lampkin, vice president for student affairs, the student appears to have died from bacterial meningitis.
Peake said there are multiple forms of bacterial meningitis. Common causes of this disease include bacteria often found in the environment. Pneumococcus is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, Peake said, though other causes, including meningococcus, exist.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said past incidences of meningitis infections in the University community were meningococcal.
The University requires students be vaccinated against this form of meningitis, Wood added.
Peake said some people are asymptomatic carriers of both pneumococcus and meningococcus; these individuals expose others to the bacteria.
"It doesn't usually make people sick, but unfortunately it can cause bacterial meningitis in some people," Peake said.
Those who suffer from chronic diseases and spleen damage are more susceptible to the disease, Peake noted.
A person suffering from meningitis is usually hospitalized while doctors try to determine the cause of the illness, Peake explained. If the meningitis is bacterial, it is treated with antibiotics. Those suffering from viral meningitis are simply given supportive care, Peake said.
Approximately 10 to 15 percent of meningococcal cases result in death. Additionally, up to 30 percent of pneumococcal meningitis cases are fatal, Peake said.
Turner estimated eight to 10 people who had close contact with the student were given antibiotics as a precautionary measure. This tactic is used to prevent the spread of bacterial meningitis to those who had household or intimate contact with someone suffering from the disease.
"There's no reason to give antibiotics to people who were in the same class or laboratory, or eating in the same dining hall," Turner said.
Turner said the student body at large should not be concerned about any potential risk.
"People need to be concerned [for the student's family], but they don't need to be concerned about themselves, per se," Turner said.
Turner noted that over 95 percent of University students have been immunized against the strains of meningitis. Turner said the vaccine is not 100 percent effective. The vaccine protects against only four out of five strains of bacterial meningitis and is only 90 percent effective in preventing those four strains.
"It's possible that it was the [fifth] strain or it's possible that if [the student was] vaccinated, the student fell into that 10-percent category," Turner said.
This case of meningitis was the first case of the disease reported at the University since September 1996, Turner added. The University began requiring vaccinating students against the disease in 1997.
"The loss of a student is always cause for sadness in our University community," Wood said. "We will reach out--through the Dean of Students Office--to the family and friends of this student and offer whatever assistance they need during this time of terrible grief."
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