Meningitis kills student at Cornell

Cornell University freshman Jeffrey Stenstrom died last Monday of the highly contagious spinal disease meningococcal meningitis. After coming down with mild flu-like symptoms five days before he died, Stenstrom went to the university's student health services. But after consultation, he was sent back to his dorm. Later that night, Stenstrom's symptoms intensified and he went to the emergency room where he was immediately put in the intensive care unit. Stenstrom, a linebacker on Cornell's varsity football team, fell into a coma that night and never regained consciousness. More than 200 students who had been in contact with Stenstrom 10 days to two weeks before he was diagnosed with meningitis received preventive doses of the antibiotic siproflaxcin. No additional cases of meningitis have been reported. If another student does come down with the disease the university will immunize the entire student body, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. Meningococcal meningitis, the most common form of meningitis, is an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, making emergency care a necessity. People can contract the disease by exchanging respiratory secretions and transmit the disease by kissing, sharing food, coughing and sneezing. The primary symptoms are fever, severe headache, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and a stiff neck. Friends and teammates held a vigil for Stenstrom at the hospital. Stenstrom's brother Steve, a Stanford senior recently drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, was also present. Cornell held a memorial service last Wednesday.

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