Colleges alert students to Penn meningococcal infections

Though no new cases of meningococcal infection have been reported at Penn, the scare has continued to ripple through both the city and other schools in the Northeast.

On Monday, Barnard College and Brown and Columbia Universities all sent e-mails to their student bodies informing them of the situation at Penn.

Marcy Ferdschneider, associate medical director of Columbia Health Services, warned students in the e-mail alert that anyone who has had "direct contact" with Penn students recently may be at risk of infection.

This included students who may have attended Penn Greek events or participated in athletic competitions with Penn students, the e-mail said.

The Columbia Spectator reported on Monday that the school's Health Services had already contacted members of the Columbia fencing team individually, requesting that they come in for preventative treatment.

The team had competed against Penn fencers in the Ivy League Tournament the previous week.

However, Holtzman would not confirm the infection was linked to the fencing team.

The seriousness of the threat may have been magnified by NBC 10 reports on Monday that the city's Health Department was investigating a fourth possible case of meningococcal infection at Penn.

University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman denied the reports were true and said the University asked the station to remove the story.

Representatives from Barnard Health Services sent a similar e-mail to their students Monday afternoon.

Brown director of Health Services Edward Wheeler announced Monday in an university-wide e-mail that there were no cases of meningitis at Brown.

He added that all three cases at Penn were linked by the Greek system and the fencing team.

Wheeler went on to advise that any Brown student who has had contact with a member of the Penn Greek system or fencing team since Feb. 2 take the preventative antibiotic.

The cases of meningococcal infection at Penn appear to have generated little concern among Brown students.

"The first I heard about this was when a friend from Penn called me," said Brown sophomore Daniel Wiener. "I only noticed the e-mail in my inbox later."

Brown sophomore Sopheya Lambertson said she saw the e-mail but did not pay much attention to it.

"I haven't heard any of my friends mention it either," she added.

Officials at Columbia Health Services, Brown Health Services and Barnard Health Services did not return calls for comment.

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