A UW-Eau Claire student died from bacterial meningococcal disease and a UW-Whitewater student has contracted the potentially deadly disease, officials said Monday.
The cases come on the heels of a UW-Madison student’s bout with the infection and are causing statewide concern about prevention and treatment of the sudden, often fatal illness.
UW-Madison freshman Kelly Steinborn is being treated for the disease after weeks of fever and vomiting. As of Sunday, her condition was serious. Her current condition is unknown.
Sean Coleman, a sophomore computer science major at UW-Eau Claire, died Sunday after falling ill with flu-like symptoms on Saturday. The residents in his dorm and those who were in contact with Coleman were immunized as a precaution against the disease.
Coleman is the second UW-Eau Claire student to die from bacterial meningococcal disease this academic year. In November 2001, Amber Krenz died after displaying symptoms.
A custodian discovered the UW-Whitewater student in a state of medical distress early Sunday morning.
Officials would not release his name but said the student is in critical but stable condition at Madison’s University Hospital. Those close to him, including fraternity brothers he had prepared food for, were immunized.
University administrators remain unsure of the disease’s cause but said students with weakened immune systems have a higher instance of contraction.
The UW cases are not connected and the incidents should not be considered an outbreak of the disease, officials said.
“They are five months apart,” Laura Chellman, UW-Eau Claire’s director of student health services, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It doesn’t constitute in any shape or form an outbreak.”
Scott Spear, director of University Health Services, agreed.
“I think it’s just a case of lightning striking at the same time,” he said. “It’s hard to know if there is an actual increase in cases or just a perceived increase.”
The disease is caused by a bacterium that can infect the bloodstream, spinal cord and the fluid around the brain. Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and a rash. Meningococcal disease is contagious, but not through general contact. To be exposed, a person must have direct contact with the carrier, including exposure to saliva or other bodily secretions. Physicians say even with direct contact, chances of contracting the disease are low.
UW-Madison typically sees one to two cases a year, said Terri Wolf, UHS R.N.
“It’s not that easily transmitted, but it’s frightening because a lot of people die from it,” she said.
Wolf said UHS has fielded numerous calls from worried students recently, some of which request the vaccination or antibiotic Cipro.
Although they do not specifically recommend students take the vaccine because it is not 100 percent effective, it was administered to those close to Steinborn.
The best defense, said Wolf, is staying healthy; there are not specific preventative measures.
“You have no way to protect yourself from this,” Wolf said. “There is no risky behavior associated with this other than just having an unhealthy immune system. The best preventative medicine is just being healthy.”
Erik Christianson, spokesperson for UW System, said UW campuses are dealing with the cases individually.
Wisconsin typically experiences 40 to 60 cases of meningococcal meningitis a year, but most cases are not fatal. Approximately one in 100,000 people contracts the disease.
