TO THE EDITOR:
Earlier this week, The Daily Tar Heel reported on a local high school student’s death by meningococcal disease.
It is always heartbreaking to hear about tragedies like this.
When facing premature deaths, it is often difficult to appropriately report on and console those most affected.
The article closed with a quote from Stacy Shelp, an Orange Country Department of Health spokeswoman, writing off the tragedy as something with “not a lot of need for community concern.”
I am a personal survivor of spinal meningitis. While this high school student’s tragic death was different in the way that it was caused by bacteria affecting the blood stream rather than the meninges (the membrane protecting the spinal cord and brain), it does not mean that there is little need for community concern.
This bacterium is not easily transmitted, but it does kill 11 percent of those infected. This infection is often overlooked as the flu; however, after about 24 hours it has been known to be lethal.
A simple Google search of meningitis results in its symptoms and a band of survivors working towards advocacy.
Many survivors suffer from kidney and brain damage or even loss of limb at the hands of the disease.
This tragic loss of life should be respectfully utilized as an opportunity to advocate for the meningitis vaccine.
