Thursday, September 28,
Thursday, September 28, 2000
AGGIES
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THE BATTALION
Meningitis can indiscriminately strike with symptoms
Sy Sara Burns
The Battalion
Seventeen-year-old Mason Ott of Houston experi-
onitoring is requiredk :nced some of the first symptoms of bacterial meningi-
is only 24 hours before he died.
After a normal day of playing in a high school foot-
dards and Safe Drinkiijtall game, Ott had a fever and told his parents he was not
'eeling well. Twenty-fourjiours later, still suffering from
umission requires thlhe the same fever, Ott became delusional and passed out.
:t 60 samples each mom cou ^* not he revived by CPR, and, by the time the am-
doriform levels inti )ulance arrived ' he was dead -
“The scary thing is, when you just have a fever, you
lon't think you could have this disease, and then there’s
10 time to catch it,” said Elise Ott, Mason Ott's cousin
ind a junior biology major.
Meningitis is an infection that causes swelling of the
., , fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. There are two
which would then; nain typesofthe disease; viral und bacteri al.
eople s health, Jd yj ra | men i n gitis is more common and usually milder
han bacterial. Symptoms include headache, low
ever, stiff neck and sensitivity to light. People ex-
cloriform, but Jonessi, xised to an individual with viral meningitis usu-
ve result rarely happen' jiy do no need treatment.
Bacterial meningitis, also known as JP
neningococcal disease, is rare, but has
o get a positive testn:
to a sampling erroroi
th the [testing] jar,”
then we will retestil
ally not a problem."
tllected 46 samples:
ing to meet the 60-si
nent due to a highl«
id windy conditionstSi
t our protocol to go
il samples,” Jones sa:
want to be an interfc
residents. So we do
ling outside. Because'
ithercan delay us. Plj
pie is taken, it hastol
hin] 24 hours, so saitif!
ot be done over
ugh the requirementsfc
of samples was notimi
he 46 test results dWj
UIIII
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■«*». f
c » Y and W-i l
c °ntbineti
a higher risk of brain damage, severe amputations, prob
lems with the nervous system and results in death for one
out of every 10 cases. Severe disabilities result in one hi
seven cases. Bacterial meningitis requires early diagnosis
and treatment because the disease can lie fatal within 24-
48 hours ofthe first symptoms. > |
The most common symptom is fever, which makes
bacterial meningitis hard to differentiate from the flu.
Other symptoms include severe headache, stiff neck,
extreme fatigue, vomiting and sensitivity to light.
Although most meningitis symptoms are similar to
those of the flu, there are some symptoms that are par
ticular to the disease, but not obvious, f
Dr. Stephen S. Tseng, of Brazos Valley Internal
Medicine, said infected individuals will have a neck so
stiff that they cannot touch their chin to their chest. Pur
ple lesions from blood poisoning and
dead nerves may be present on the skin
and there may be a change in the individ-
jgjli ual’s mental status.
Anyone is at risk, but according to the Amer-
1 ican Medical Association (AM A), those most sus
ceptible are people
with immune defi-
pP'f ciency, people with
damaged or removed
spleens, children un
der the age of five, el
derly people and
young adults from
ages 15 to 24. Bacte
rial meningitis is
highly contagious and
can be spread through
kissing, sneezing,
I coughing or sharing
eating utensils.
College students
are often highly sus
ceptible to bacterial
meningitis because
they interact with
hundreds of differ
ent people every
day in classes and
organizations.
Christian Faculty Network
Distinguished Lecture Series
fTALION
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College Station,™ 77843-1111.
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Rudder Theatre
^Thursday at 7:00 pm.
September 28, 2000
Co-sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ and
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship
Dr. Ann Reed, the associate di
rector for clinical services at A. P.
Beutel Health Center, said students
who live in dormitories are four
times as likely to catch bacterial
meningitis.
Living in close quarters with an
infected individual could easily cause
an outbreak. Once an outbreak is de
clared. people in proximity to the disease are
strongly encouraged to get a vaccination or
start taking antibiotics Reed said.
Tseng said. “College students are more suscep
tible if they are around someone with the disease, or
if their immune system is down because they are not
eating right and having a loss of sleep.
“Students that smoke, consume high amounts of alco
hol or do not get enough sleep have lower immune systems
and become more susceptible to bacterial meningitis.”
From 1991-96 the number of cases in young adults
from ages 15 to 34 nearly doubled, according to infor
mation from the health center.
Tseng said students can help prevent meningitis in
fections by building up their immune systems.
“Good hygiene and nutrition can help to prevent >
meningitis,” he said. “If fever is present along with one,
other symptom of meningitis, the individual could lie
initeted and should see a doctor right away.”
Dr. Samuel J. Barina of Brazos Valley Internal
Medicine, said if students think they might be infect
ed, they should report immediately to their local hos
pital emergency room.
Mason Ott did not get to see a dodtor before his symp
toms became severe, but his death could have been pre
vented. There is a vaccine to immunize people against
bacterial meningitis called menomune. It lasts about
three years, and it is the best form of prevention,
Reed said.
Currently, it is not required by A&M as a boost- g
or shot because the disease is so rare. The immu
nization is available at the health center at a re
duced rate of $59 for students.
to the common flu
If a person is thought to be infected with the disease,
depending on how severe the case is, blood work is done,
a spinal tap is performed or a lumbar puncture is per
formed to see if the meningitis is viral or bacterial.
The bacteria can live for months in the back of a per
son’s throat or nasal passages without causing illness and
then disappear. Usually, carriers who do not get sick
build up an immunity to the bacteria.
Anyone exposed to an infected individual should
take preventive medicine right away.
Treatment for those infected with bacterial
meningitis are usually intensive doses of an
tibiotics. With early diagnosis, recovery rates
are much higher. More information on
symptoms, effects and prevention of menin-
gitis is available at Beutel
Health Center.
m