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Recruitment participants from the Panhellenic Association may have been exposed
University officials warned Wednesday students who participated in the recruitment activities of the College Panhellenic Association this week to preventive treatment after a student has contracted meningococcal meningitis.
The student, who was not named, was treated at a local hospital on Wednesday after being diagnosed with the bacterial disease, officials said in an email to the campus community.
Students who participated in formal recruitment activities for the Panhellenic Association from September 1 to 3 were invited to receive preventive treatment, often offered as a pill. Student Health Services will offer treatment between noon and 5 pm on Thursday, September 6 and between 10 am and 4 pm on Friday, September 7.
Treatment is recommended regardless of previous vaccination against meningococcal disease, officials said.
Anyone who may have contracted meningitis after coming in contact with the infected person is likely to have symptoms before Friday, September 14, university officials said.
The last time meningitis appeared in SDSU, almost a year ago, in November 2017, three cases of viral meningitis, the most common form, had been diagnosed. The most deadly bacterial form of meningitis killed a student of SDSU in 2014.
Medical Director of Student Health Services, Cynthia Cornelius, said in the email that the disease could progress in just 12 hours, making "rapid diagnosis and treatment" essential.
"The first symptoms usually associated with meningococcal meningitis include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea, vomiting, and lethargy, and may resemble flu," he said. declared Cornelius.
Students living in residential halls are the most exposed to the disease, said Cornelius.
"Other research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that freshmen living in dormitories have a six-fold higher risk of meningococcal meningitis than students," he said. Cornelius in the campus email.
The vaccine that helps prevent meningococcal disease is not one of the three vaccines required to participate in SDSU, but the Student Health Services website states that it is recommended that students living in residences be vaccinated. Student Health Services offers two different vaccines to fight meningococcal disease in their facilities.
Some behaviors can also make people more susceptible to contracting the disease.
"Bacterial meningitis can be transmitted through direct contact with oral secretions, through air via droplets of sneezed or coughed respiratory secretions, or even speaking face to face," Cornelius said. "Examples of direct oral contact include sharing items, such as cigarettes or drinking glasses, or by intimate contact such as a kiss."
Members of the campus community who need more information have been invited to call the SDSU Student Health Services from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at (619) 594-4325 and press "1" to contact one of the nurses or call the Epidemiology Division of the San Diego County Public Health Services at (619) 594-4325 692-8499.
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