Suspected meningitis case is No. 4

Another resident of Granville Towers likely has come down with bacterial meningitis.

But campus health officials say the three cases of the disease at Granville in the past year are not related.

A resident of Granville Towers West was diagnosed with presumptive meningococcal disease Friday. If confirmed, the case will be the fourth at UNC-Chapel Hill this year and the third at the off-campus living facility.

The student was admitted to UNC Hospitals on Thursday afternoon and diagnosed Friday, when doctors verified that the student’s symptoms are characteristic of the disease.

The case still is considered presumptive as of Sunday afternoon because laboratory tests have not verified the diagnosis.

Cases at UNC-CH were reported in October, January and March.

The student is receiving treatment on an outpatient basis, a fact that “suggests that things are going very, very well for this patient,” said Bob Wirag, director of Student Health Service.

Officials are not releasing the student’s name.

Student health officials are contacting everyone who had close contact with the patient since April 6 and suggesting that those people take the oral antibiotic Cipro.

The antibiotic was available at Granville Towers on Friday and Sunday nights and at Student Health all weekend. Students can obtain the treatment at Student Health this week during regular hours.

Officials have discounted the possibility of a connection among the meningitis cases in Granville Towers during the past year.

Wirag said such a link is not possible because the organism can survive for only a few minutes once it leaves the body.

“This organism does not live in the environment,” Wirag said. “It lives only in the human host. It is transmitted by human contact.”

Meningitis affects 2,500 Americans each year, according to the American College Health Association. Ten percent to 15 percent of those cases are fatal.

UNC-system schools recommend that all freshmen get vaccinated for meningitis before starting school. But even people who are vaccinated can contract the disease.

Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, headache and a stiff neck. They can develop during several hours or several days. Other symptoms include a reddish or purple-red rash, nausea, vomiting, discomfort when looking into bright lights, confusion and sleepiness.

The disease is spread through kissing, coughing or sneezing, or sharing a drink, food or cigarette.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.