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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 11, 2005 Meningitis scare hits SOU By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune ASHLAND — About 100 Southern Oregon University theater students and others were dosed with antibiotics last week after a freshman woman fell critically ill with a contagious form of bacterial meningitis, health officials said. Those treated had come in close contact with the young woman, who worked on hairstyling and makeup during a recent school theater production, said Chris Sackett, an SOU associate professor of theater arts. She developed symptoms of the fast-moving, potentially fatal disease at home during the recent Thanksgiving holiday break. The woman, who was not identified because of health privacy rules, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in another part of Oregon, said Dr. Laura Robin, medical director for the SOU Student Health and Wellness Center. Advertisement She is still recovering from the infection caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, which is more common — and more often fatal — among adolescents and young adults, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her illness sent anxiety throughout the community, Robin said. "It wasn’t a hysteria by any means, but there were worries," she said. Students and others who had spent more than four hours within six feet of the freshman student seven days before her illness were given antibiotics as a precaution, Robin said. The young woman likely had not received a vaccine against bacterial meningitis now recommended for most incoming freshmen college students, Robin said. Even if she had been immunized, however, it wouldn’t have helped, she added. The vaccine isn’t effective against the particular strain of bacteria that infected the girl, even though it’s the most common kind diagnosed in Oregon. "That one’s hard to treat," Robin said. In the past decade, 10 Oregon college students have been diagnosed with the disease, Robin noted. In the general population, incidences of meningococcal disease of all types are down this year, with 28 cases reported by the end of October, compared with 49 during the same period in 2004, CDC statistics showed. Nearly 3,000 cases are reported in the U.S. annually. Freshmen college students are considered to be particularly vulnerable to meningococcal meningitis because of their living conditions, which often include crowded quarters, shared beverages or utensils, smoking and irregular sleeping habits. Elderly people are most susceptible to a different variety, pneumococcal meningitis, Jackson County health officials said. All varieties of the disease, an infection and inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, are caused by bacteria commonly present in the nose and throat of many people, said Dr. Jim Shames, county medical director. Medical experts don’t know exactly what causes the bacteria to become dangerous, he said. "It’s an opportunistic disease," Shames said. "It usually seems to attack people that are otherwise ill. They’ve had a cold; they’re feeling under the weather." Meningococcal meningitis is fatal in up to 25 percent of adolescents and young adults, compared with 10 percent of the general population, according to the CDC. Pneumococcal meningitis is fatal in 30 percent of people aged 65 and older, and those with compromised immune systems, officials said. "It’s very important to emphasize that we’re trying to get the elderly vaccinated against the disease," Shames said. Vaccinations are generally available through private doctors. Symptoms of bacterial meningitis include a severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, incoherence, and, in some cases, a purplish rash. Left untreated, the disease can progress rapidly, often within hours, and can lead to hearing loss, kidney damage, limb amputations, brain damage — and death. "Anybody that gets sick and gets a real bad headache that’s not touched by aspirin should go to the ER," Shames said. Bacterial meningitis is a fairly rare disease, but its unpredictability is alarming, health officials said. "It can happen to you or I tomorrow," said Hank Collins, county health director. "What can really terrify people is the randomness of it." Medford woman dies from disease A Medford woman in her 30s died last week after contracting bacterial meningitis, Jackson County Health officials said. The woman, who lived alone, was discovered at her home. Jim Shames, county medical director, said the disease likely progressed quickly, becoming critical before the woman realized she was ill. Health privacy rules prevented release of the woman’s name and age, as well as other identifying details, officials said. In Oregon in 2004, seven people died as a result of bacterial meningitis, preliminary statistics from the Oregon Department of Human Services showed. The last such death in Jackson County was reported in 2001. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail Meningitis scare hits SOU ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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