Meningitis kills New England students

by Kevin Flanders
Exchange Staff

    Although meningitis is a relatively rare disease, recent deaths - including a Bently College student - are sparking concern among college officials across the United States.

      New Hampshire, like most other states, requires college students to receive a meningitis vaccination. An average 3,000 Americans will be infected with meningitis each year, and about 300 of them will die from the disease. The majority of people who contract meningitis are under the age of 25, and most of them attend high school or college.

     However, as Ellen Ostreicher, a Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Health Services, pointed out,“There are two kinds of meningitis and the vaccination does not protect against a few potentially deadly strains of bacterial meningitis.”

     Brian McCoy, a 2007 graduate of Franklin Pierce University, suffered from viral meningitis last year and is warning students not to take any chances with this deceptive disease.

     “I had headaches and a small fever for about a week, but then my neck got really sore and the headaches became so intense that I had to go the hospital,” said McCoy.

     Meningitis causes an inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord and it comes in two forms: viral and bacterial. Viral meningitis is more common and is usually not deadly. Although bacterial meningitis is rare, it can cause death or significant brain damage if not treated immediately. One in five people who survive bacterial meningitis will experience permanent brain damage or hearing loss.

     The disease is usually acquired by coming into contact with the saliva of an infected person after a sneeze or cough. It can also be caught by kissing or sharing drinks with an infected person person.  “One of the reasons why bacterial meningitis can be deadly is because it is extremely hard to diagnose in its early stages,” Ostreicher added.

     Symptoms of bacterial meningitis are very similar to those of the flu or a cold such as vomiting, fever, and headaches. However, the disease does have specific symptoms that are unique, such as a stiff neck that can be painful when trying to look
down, and extreme exhaustion to the point where one can barely open his or her eyes.

     “I guess I was lucky to catch viral meningitis instead of bacterial meningitis because I should have seen a doctor much earlier than I did,” said McCoy.

     The Department of Health Services encourages any student who believes he or she may be infected with meningitis to seek help as quickly as possible. The only way to determine whether or not a person has the disease is to withdraw fluid from the
spine in a procedure called a lumbar puncture or "spinal tap". This is not a procedure that can be done on campus, and students who are suspected to have meningitis will be referred to a local hospital.

     All persons who are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis are treated with antibiotics in the hospital and are carefully monitored in an effort to reduce their chances of having seizures or brain damage.