No Mastery of Meningitis

By Josh Carmel

Dean of Students Julie Ramsey has become the proverbial bearer of bad news. Although administrative messages frequently circulate throughout the college campus, informing students of pertinent curriculum changes or impediments caused by inclement weather, her notices have acquired a vulnerable, and oftentimes morbid, lilt of misfortune.

A product of her occupation as Vice President of the College, Ramsey must inform students of occurrences which necessitate counteraction or immediate medical attention, as well as those which must be dealt with preemptively. Students have been privy to e-mails, this year alone, which concern spontaneous injuries and the proliferation of bacterial meningitis on campus. Thrice the campus community has received information concerning the latter illness, and such an unprecedented increase in its diagnosis has prompted action.

“It was kind of weird [hearing about a second and third case],” said freshmen Katey Stauffer. “It meant that the first case wasn’t isolated and that it could spread further.”

On Monday, March 15 both Ramsey and Director of Health Services Fred Kinsella spoke at a press conference offered in the College Union Building. Jointly, they addressed burgeoning concerns and charted common variables between all three cases. Diagnoses at Gettysburg have spanned both semesters, with the first identified in fall of this academic year, and the last divulged shortly after March 1.

Subsequent to this last investigation, the College was contacted by the Pennsylvania Health Department and asked to notify those students who either lacked proper inoculation or had been administered vaccinations which lapsed after 5 years, a statistic that included approximately 200 individuals on campus.

According to a data sheet issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meningococcal vaccination protects against “most types of meningococcal disease, but they do not prevent all cases.” The CDC and Food and Drug Administration have complicity sanctioned a primary inoculation against Neisseria meningitids, a primary bacterium in the strain of meningitis witnessed in Gettysburg.  Such vaccinations, however, do not account for mutations in bacteria which may prove resistant and further complicate treatment after the illness is contracted.

Ramsey further conveyed that the Health Department suspected a commonality between all three cases, its circulation commuted through specific centers on campus. Upon further investigation, it was discerned that each student had visited Lamda Chi Alpha on numerous occasions. As this was the only variable which significantly overlapped in each instance, the administration concluded that the strain was propagated at the fraternity house.

“We each had to get a meningitis shot,” said Lamda Chi brother Rob Veech. “It’s a new strain of meningitis, all the brothers have been trying not to get it. Additionally, during spring break, the college cleaned the house to prevent its further spread.”

According to Veech, Facilities had cleaned both bathrooms at the fraternity and other areas which may have manifested the disease.

“We’re probably one of the cleaner fraternities,” said Veech, who felt that the declaration made by the administration was akin to “finger pointing.”

As the CDC has stated on its website, meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of “protective membranes covering the brain  and spinal cord known as meninges.” The inflammation is generally a product of infection within the fluid surrounding both the brain and spinal cord, which can cause severe medical repercussions if not treated promptly.

Those at risk of contracting the disease include: pre-teens and adolescents, college freshmen, and travelers, as the illness is spread through the exchange of throat and respiratory secretions (inherent in coughing and kissing).

As Ramsey has conveyed through all of her ill-fated e-mails, bacterial meningitis may facilitate a series of subsequent illnesses. Hib meningitis, for example, can cause pneumonia and, if left untreated, would compromise the circulatory system entirely. It is imperative that any individual experiencing nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, an altered medical state, and feverish conditions visit the Health Center immediately.

As for Lamda Chi, Veech maintains that the fraternity will be providing “new roofing and flooring over the summer so as to update safety precautions” as well as quell the possible reemergence of meningitis.

In spite of the negative connotations that have plagued Ramsey’s unfortunate messages, each melancholy experience  has witnessed the prompt action of the College, as well as offered a poignant lesson in the transcendence of familiarity.