Meningitis claims life of Penn sophomore

By Emily Apisa
Collegian Reporter
September 19, 2007

A University of Pennsylvania sophomore died of meningococcal meningitis Sunday, Sept. 9. Because of the accessibility of vaccines, meningitis infections are rare. Nevertheless, one in 20,000 college-aged individuals becomes infected each year, according The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Anne Ryan, 19, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday and was pronounced dead Sunday. It remains unclear how Ryan acquired the disease. Her sudden death left Penn in shock. A campus-wide e-mail was sent out alerting students and faculty of the death and the disease, the Inquirer said.

The Center for Disease Control describes meningitis as a disease that is spread easily through close, prolonged interaction with an infected person. Due to the nature of how it spreads, meningitis can be a real threat to those living in dorm rooms.

Since June 2002, Pennsylvania law has required college students to get the meningitis vaccination in order to attend an institute of higher education. However, a waiver can be signed if religious or other reasons conflict with the vaccination requirement.

Before the state requirement was put into place, La Salle recommended and offered the vaccination to students. Dina Oleksiak, Director of the Student Health Center, played a fundamental part in making the meningitis shot available because of her personal story involving the disease.

“My first goal here was to start the meningitis vaccine program,” Oleksiak said. “My six-year-old niece had it and she died in a matter of 12 hours.”

Symptoms of the disease are often flu-like, including stiff neck, fever and vomiting, Oleksiak said. Many times, they are overlooked and not taken seriously, but, according to Oleksiak, a combination of the symptoms will catch the attention of the nurses at La Salle.

“We have a heightened sense of awareness because we are in college health and because we saw someone die here,” said Oleksiak.

The death Oleksiak refers to happened April 12, 2001. La Salle student Kerri Bessette died of meningitis despite getting the vaccination. A freshman when she died, Bessette was an elementary sepcial education major and hailed from Rhode Island. As Bessette’s case illustrates, the vaccinations are only about 90 percent effective. Furthermore, certain strands of meningitis are simply unable to be vaccinated against.

If detected in time, the disease can be readily treated. If left untreated, however, the consequences are dire. Blindness, mental retardation, amputations and death are among the most serious affects of the disease.   

Meningitis is a fairly uncommon disease affecting only about 3,000 Americans annually. The Philadelphia Division of Disease Control estimates that the city sees about 15 to 20 cases of meningitis each year. Despite its scarcity, young adults have a high risk of contracting it and need to be especially aware of the disease.

In addition to the meningitis vaccine, La Salle’s students have a variety of vaccinations available to them at the health center, and Oleksiak encourages students to utilize these services.

apisae1@lasalle.edu