An undergraduate student has been diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, according to an email from Public Safety. The student has been admitted to an out-of-town hospital near his home.
The Department of Public Safety and the Medical Clinic are working to identify any students that may have had close contact with the student and may need preventive antibiotics. However, the "vast majority of people at school do not need to be concerned or take any special precautions."
Students who are enrolled in a class or may have had other close contact with this student will be notified via an email and will be encouraged to consider being evaluated by a physician, the email states.
Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms may develop within several hours or over a period of one to two days, according to the email. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, discomfort when looking into bright lights and mental confusion.
People who have had close contact with the student are being offered preventative antibiotics. For all others persons, including those who had casual contact, the risk of infection is "extraordinarily low."
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