The female student from California is hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, where she is listed in stable condition. The student became ill as she was returning from spring break. March 27, and transferred to Cooley Dickinson. She was started on antibiotics immediately, on March 27. Meningococcal meningitis and meningococcemia are two forms of meningococcal disease.
Meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Meningococcemia is an infection of the blood and may also involve other organs. Both of these illnesses are caused by bacteria. In the current case, the diagnosis is meningococcemia. According to Anne J. Lardner, public health nurse at UHS, campus individuals who have had close contact with the student have been contacted and treated with antibiotics. There is a vaccine that protects against certain forms of meningococcal disease.