OSU student diagnosed with meningitis

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

STILLWATER, OK -- Oklahoma State University Health Sciences confirmed today that an Oklahoma State University female student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.  

OSU is working with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Payne County Health Department to identify all persons at risk and is providing a post-exposure oral antibiotic.  A number of the student’s close friends have already been contacted and treated.  

“The general public is not at risk,” said Steve Rogers, director of the University Health Sciences.  “Only persons who have had close, personal contact to a person with a meningococcal infection have a slightly increased risk of developing the disease.”
   
Rogers said such personal contact would be household contact such as sharing eating or drinking utensils, or being physically intimate with a person with meningococcal infection.

OSU continues to contact any individuals who might have had a recent close contact with the student, who lives in a campus apartment.  In addition, the university has contacted the student’s instructors and is in the process of contacting her classmates.

While casual contacts, such as students in a school classroom or co-workers at a workplace, are not at increased risk of getting the disease, OSU will be providing the oral antibiotic to students in each of the affected student’s classes.  Students in her classes may take the antibiotic in class today or tomorrow, or go to University Health Services.  Here is the student’s list of classes:

CHEM-1515-003    General Chemistry        MWF – 8:30 a.m.     ES 317
PSYC-1113-013    Introductory Psych        MWF – 2:30 p.m.    CLB 122
SPAN-2215-002    Intermed Spanish        MTWRF – 1:30 p.m.    GU 209
ZOOL-1604-012    Animal Biology        MWF – 12:30 p.m.    ES 317

Meningitis is a potentially fatal infection of the fluids of the brain and spinal cord and is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis.  The symptoms may appear two to ten days after infection, but usually appear within three to four days.  People that are ill with meningitis will have fever, intense headache, nausea, vomiting, and a stiff neck.  It is important to seek care from a physician as soon as possible if these symptoms appear.

Many healthy people carry meningococcal bacteria in their nose and throat without any symptoms.  Usually, the bacteria stay in the nose and throat for a few days and will then disappear.  The bacteria are spread from person-to-person by direct contact with secretions from the nose and throat.  The reason that the organism disappears in some people and produces illness in others is not clearly understood but is probably related to individual susceptibility.

Ciprofloxacin or rifampin are the antibiotics generally prescribed for those with close contact.  It eliminates the bacteria from the nose and throat of persons carrying it, which may help protect contacts from developing a meningococcal infection.  

Students or others with questions or concerns may contact 405-744-2159.  In addition, a fact sheet on meningococcal disease and other information are available at http://www.okstate.edu/UHS/.  Those with immediate health concerns should visit a local emergency room, or contact their family physician or University Health Services.   

Additional information is available by contacting the Payne County Health Department at (405) 372-8200, or the Epidemiologist-on-call at the Oklahoma State Department of Health Communicable Disease Division at (405) 271-4060.