Student infected with meningococcal strain is improving

Updated March 16, 11:35 a.m.

The undergraduate student hospitalized with meningococcal infection March 7 remains in critical condition but is stable and improving, according to University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman on Monday.

The student was infected with strain B, the strain for which there is no vaccine, according to Holtzman.

There are no new suspected or confirmed meningococcal infection cases, she added.

Strain B is the strain contracted by the three students hospitalized last month, and is the only one of the five strains of meningococcal infection for which no known vaccine has been developed.

The vaccine protects against the four other strains, known as A, C, Y and W-153.

Three Penn students were hospitalized between Feb. 12 and 13 with meningococcal infection, a bacterial infection within the bloodstream. An additional two students were hospitalized on Feb. 15 with flu-like symptoms but were never confirmed to have meningitis.

The student hospitalized the morning of March 7 is believed to have no connections to any of the previously hospitalized students, according to SHS director Evelyn Wiener.

She also said no links to either Greek or athletic communities have been identified. The students who became ill during the February outbreak had common contact through the Greek system, according to University officials. Other colleges also alerted their fencing teams to the situation, and advised those students to seek preventative treatment, though Penn has refused to confirm or deny that members of the fencing team were affected.

In last month's cases, SHS preventatively treated about 3,000 students with Ciprofloxacin, but University and Philadelphia health officials do not believe widespread distribution of preventative medicine is necessary in the current situation.

Close contacts of the student believed to need preventative treatment - a number Wiener estimated to be about 10 to 20 - have been notified, and "just about all of them" have received treatment, Wiener said, adding that SHS has been "pretty aggressively" examining the student's close contacts.

The University sent an e-mail notifying the Penn community of the situation about 7 p.m. on March 7. The student's family has also been notified.

Penn has also notified the city, which will notify the state, which will in turn notify the Center for Disease Control, according to Wiener.

Those who have had casual contact - such as living in the same dormitory, eating in the same dining hall or attending classes - with the infected student are not at risk for infection and treatment is not recommended for these individuals.

Although students with a smaller connection to the infected students do not require medication, SHS will evaluate any concerned student and extended its hours March 7 and 8 to do that.

Common symptoms of meningococcal meningitis include fever, severe headache, sensitivity to bright light, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, rash and lethargy. Anyone experiencing these should seek medical attention immediately.

Anne Ryan, a College sophomore, died from meningitis in September 2007. Her family has sued the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, alleging that she was mistreated, and the case is still pending.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.