One student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis at the University of Virginia. According to the Washington Post on Feb. 12, there are at least 47 other students who have been given antibiotics after finding the one case of meningitis.
The 47 or more students that were given antibiotics, were students who had come in direct contact with the infected student. The antibiotics have been given as a precautionary measure.
Bacterial meningitis can be a potentially fatal disease. Some early symptoms a person would notice would be fever, headache, a stiff neck, nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light.
Even students who have been vaccinated can still possibly get the disease. The vaccination protects against four of the five major strains. The student who was infected had the fifth strain which is called the b strain.
The young woman who is currently infected with the bacterial meningitis has a team of UVA doctors hopeful that she will make a full recovery. The young woman was at a sorority function just days before she became ill. The girls that were at the sorority function have all been given antibiotics. Hopefully there will be no further cases.
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