Re: Deaths prompt meningitis vax at 2 universities in USA

[Guest guest]

That link didn't work. (Is it me? Say it isn't me. ) Anyone? Thanks,

Sandy

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Deaths prompt meningitis vax at 2 universities

in USA

http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?gid=801 & v=2.11 & buster=685

Louisiana: Schools fighting blood infection Two universities immunizing;

illness related to meningitis 11/14/2001 Associated Press Two days after a

Tulane University sophomore became the third person in Louisiana to die of a

meningitis-related blood infection in the last month, health officials at

the

New Orleans campus were working to ward off the disease among people who

might have come in contact with her. Meningitis concerns also prompted

officials Tuesday at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to encourage

its nearly 16,000 students to get vaccinated for a bacterial form of

meningitis.

Meningitis vaccinations are available every day at the campus health center,

but vaccinations were being promoted Tuesday because of the death of a

teenager last week in Kaplan, about 20 miles southwest of Lafayette, and the

deaths of two Tulane University students within the last eight months.

on, 19, of Chapel Hill, N.C., died of meningococcal septicemia

Saturday at Tulane University Hospital. About 300 friends, relatives,

faculty

members, and university officials attended her memorial service Monday.

By Tuesday, Tulane's Student Health Center had immunized about 130 people

and

distributed about 250 doses of antibiotics, said Dr. Farrow, the

center's director.

Dr. Farrow said another fatal case was diagnosed in Houma. An andria

resident also has the disease but is responding to treatment, state

epidemiologist Raoult Ratard said.

State health workers are working to see whether the cases have anything in

common, Dr. Ratard said.

Meningococcal septicemia, which can start with cold- or flu-like symptoms,

is

spread by coughs and sneezes or close contact, such as drinking out of the

same glass.

It generally is most prevalent from January through March, when people spend

more time indoors.

" This is a much earlier start, " Dr. Ratard said. " I don't know if this is

going to be a trend. "

Ms. on was the second Tulane student to die of meningococcal

septicemia

this year. Both students lived in dormitories, thought to be high-risk areas

for the disease because people live close together.

The infection is rare, striking about two people in 100,000, said Dr.

Brobson

Lutz, the Orleans Parish Medical Society's health spokesman.

But when it attacks, it moves swiftly.

" Twenty-four hours before [Ms. on] died, she had a mild cold, and that

was typical, " Dr. Farrow said.

" There's no specific test for meningococcal septicemia, " he said. " The best

thing is to have a high index of suspicion. "

People who think they may have been exposed to the disease should seek

medical help, Dr. Farrow said.

Meningococcal septicemia is related to meningitis, an inflammation of the

membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal septicemia can

develop into meningitis, Dr. Farrow said, but that doesn't always happen.

Vaccination offers an 80 percent effectiveness rate against four of the five

strains of meningococcal bacteria. The immune system needs as much as a week

to mount a defense, he said, and the shot is good for three to five years.

[Guest guest]

Oh, bummer. I went to Tulane. Very sad. Probably not the whole story, though,

as living in the Big Easy can be detrimental to your health for many reasons

(especially at Tulane). Those TGIF's on the quad could easily do a person in

from alcohol poisoning! Since she died on Saturday, I'd definitely be

suspicious, but the health center folks are totally incompetent so I'm not

surprised their brand of health care didn't help her.

Sadly, " Go, Green Wave! "

Deaths prompt meningitis vax at 2 universities in USA

http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?gid=801 & v=2.11 & buster=685

Louisiana: Schools fighting blood infection Two universities immunizing;

illness related to meningitis 11/14/2001 Associated Press Two days after a

Tulane University sophomore became the third person in Louisiana to die of a

meningitis-related blood infection in the last month, health officials at the

New Orleans campus were working to ward off the disease among people who

might have come in contact with her. Meningitis concerns also prompted

officials Tuesday at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to encourage

its nearly 16,000 students to get vaccinated for a bacterial form of

meningitis.

Meningitis vaccinations are available every day at the campus health center,

but vaccinations were being promoted Tuesday because of the death of a

teenager last week in Kaplan, about 20 miles southwest of Lafayette, and the

deaths of two Tulane University students within the last eight months.

on, 19, of Chapel Hill, N.C., died of meningococcal septicemia

Saturday at Tulane University Hospital. About 300 friends, relatives, faculty

members, and university officials attended her memorial service Monday.

By Tuesday, Tulane's Student Health Center had immunized about 130 people and

distributed about 250 doses of antibiotics, said Dr. Farrow, the

center's director.

Dr. Farrow said another fatal case was diagnosed in Houma. An andria

resident also has the disease but is responding to treatment, state

epidemiologist Raoult Ratard said.

State health workers are working to see whether the cases have anything in

common, Dr. Ratard said.

Meningococcal septicemia, which can start with cold- or flu-like symptoms, is

spread by coughs and sneezes or close contact, such as drinking out of the

same glass.

It generally is most prevalent from January through March, when people spend

more time indoors.

" This is a much earlier start, " Dr. Ratard said. " I don't know if this is

going to be a trend. "

Ms. on was the second Tulane student to die of meningococcal septicemia

this year. Both students lived in dormitories, thought to be high-risk areas

for the disease because people live close together.

The infection is rare, striking about two people in 100,000, said Dr. Brobson

Lutz, the Orleans Parish Medical Society's health spokesman.

But when it attacks, it moves swiftly.

" Twenty-four hours before [Ms. on] died, she had a mild cold, and that

was typical, " Dr. Farrow said.

" There's no specific test for meningococcal septicemia, " he said. " The best

thing is to have a high index of suspicion. "

People who think they may have been exposed to the disease should seek

medical help, Dr. Farrow said.

Meningococcal septicemia is related to meningitis, an inflammation of the

membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal septicemia can

develop into meningitis, Dr. Farrow said, but that doesn't always happen.

Vaccination offers an 80 percent effectiveness rate against four of the five

strains of meningococcal bacteria. The immune system needs as much as a week

to mount a defense, he said, and the shot is good for three to five years.