Indeed, this year the interest level was so high that it seemed like more than the small health center staff could handle. Schukoske attributed the heightened awareness and large turnout to the extensive media coverage of these illnesses. The Health Center sent out a memo to students after a University of Connecticut student contracted the disease in September. Although the student survived, the disease can be fatal. In 1993, UConn experienced a meningitis outbreak.
Officials classify an outbreak as an occurrence of three or more cases of the disease.
Schukoske said she did not attribute this year's higher student turnout to the UConn incident. Meningococcal disease, or meningitis, is rarer than the flu but much more dangerous. The bacterial infection occurs most frequently among college students and others living in confined communities. Some early symptoms include high fever, nausea, vomiting, ear or throat inflammations, rash and lethargy. I heard there were a lot of cases of it in the last year.