1 student diagnosed with bacterial meningitis

The university was notified April 2 that a Chapman student had been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, Associate Dean of Students DeAnn Yocum Gaffney wrote in an April 5 health advisory email.

Meningitis B, the strain that the student was diagnosed with, is not typically covered by the general meningitis vaccine that students should have received before entering college, Yocum Gaffney wrote.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Director of Student Health Jacqueline Deats said that Student Health Services distributed 52 doses of an antibiotic in the Student Union April 6 to treat those who had verified contact with the student who contracted meningitis. That time period was originally allotted for students, staff and faculty to receive a free mumps, measles and rubella booster vaccine, after nine students were diagnosed with the mumps this year.

This is the first case of meningitis that Deats has seen in her 11 years as director of student health, she said.

“The university basically pulled (the student’s) classes and contacted any students that were in those classes and professors that would have potential exposure from the student,” Deats said.

The university also contacted students who had been on an extended spring break trip with the student.

The student has been released from the hospital and is no longer contagious, Deats said.

“(Meningitis B) is a newer strain, and (there is) an additional vaccine to just protect against this newer strain,” Deats said. “Being that we’ve had a recent outbreak, certainly we can look into mandating (the vaccine) in the future.”

The Orange County Health Agency said that the risk to the student population is fairly low, the email said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been about 4,100 cases of meningitis and about 500 deaths associated with bacterial meningitis from 2003 to 2007.

Symptoms of meningitis include the sudden onset of a fever, headache and a stiff neck, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of bacterial meningitis typically appear within three to seven days of exposure. Bacterial meningitis can be deadly, Deats said.

Deats said that bacterial meningitis is more dangerous than viral meningitis, because it is an infection and must be treated with antibiotics.

According to the National Meningitis Association, five college campuses between 2013 and 2016 had cases of meningitis B.

From January to June 2015, seven students were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis at the University of Oregon. One student died. At Princeton University, there were nine cases of bacterial meningitis from March 2013 to March 2014. A Drexel University student who came in contact with infected Princeton students died.

In late 2013, four students were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  All students survived, but one student had both feet amputated.

The email recommends that anyone who thinks they are experiencing symptoms of bacterial meningitis to go to an emergency room for treatment, as doctor’s offices and urgent care facilities are usually not equipped to diagnose the infection.