The death of a Loras
College student in Dubuque has brought people attention to
bacterial meningitis.
Bacterial meningitis, an infection in the fluid lining of
the brain and spinal cord, can be spread by direct contact with saliva, such as
kissing, sharing eating utensils, drinks or cigarettes. Symptoms of the disease
include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, rash and stiff neck.
Audrey Fitzgerald, 19, died last week of the disease
although she had been vaccinated against it. She was last seen alive either
late Saturday or early Sunday morning. He body was found Sunday night in her
Loras dormitory, and, the State Medical Examiner’s Office determined Tuesday
that she died of the disease.
Authorities believe Fitzgerald died from neisseria or
meningococcal meningitis, a highly contagious disease that can cause local
epidemics in college dormitories and boarding schools as well as on military bases.
“The disease is more prevalent in the 15-24 age range because this is the
age in which young people are more likely to congregate in close social
settings, like schools, colleges, dormitories, etc. They are also more likely
to engage in some of the behaviors in which meningitis is spread, like drinking
from the same glass,” said Polly Carver-Kimm, a representative for the Iowa
Department of Public Health, according to the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.
Mary Rose Corrigan, public health specialist with the city
of Dubuque,
said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference at Loras, that authorities
are contacting people believed to have had close contact with Fitzgerald.
Also, Loras
College president Jim
Collins says all students are required to get vaccinated for the disease, or an
oral antibiotic that can prevent the onset of the disease.
Approximately 2000 – 3000 cases of meningococcal disease occur
each year in the United
States and about 125 deaths results from the
disease. Vaccines can protect against most types of meningococcal meningitis,
but there are cases when they do not cover all the strains, which must have
been Fitzgerald’s case. The type of meningococcal meningitis that struck the
girl should be known within a week, Corrigan said.