Students sought who partied with Oregon
man stricken by meningococcal disease
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[February 12, 2015]
By Courtney Sherwood
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Public health
officials are working to identify and offer antibiotics to about 20
University of Oregon students who attended a fraternity party at the
home of a man diagnosed this week with a potentially deadly
meningococcemia infection, authorities said on Wednesday.
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The student at whose home the party was held was the third person in
less than a month from the University of Oregon to contract
meningococcemia, a bacterial precursor to meningitis that can also
lead to damaging blood infections.
“He was physically there at the gathering, but he would have had to
be within three meters of someone to transmit an infection,” said
Jason Davis, spokesman for Lane County Public Health. He also
declined to name the fraternity involved.
“He was in the kitchen chatting with a few people, then had homework
and left the main gathering, so the exposure risk was relatively
low,” Davis added.
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He urged students who may have been exposed to meningococcemia to
reach out to public health officials and also said the recent
outbreak is a reminder that vaccines are available to prevent
infection.
Some students who attended the party have been hesitant to speak
with public health officials, somewhat slowing the public health
response.
“We know what our intentions are – to help protect the community and
the student body, but when public health starts investigating, it
can be intimidating for some people to have a government agent with
a clipboard asking questions about their lives,” Davis said. “That
hesitation puts a crimp in our process, but it’s understandable.”
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The male University of Oregon student diagnosed on Monday and a
female student diagnosed on Feb. 3 are both recovering well from
their infections, Davis said, but a female student diagnosed on Jan.
16 has had more difficulty recovering.
(Reporting by Courtney Sherwood; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and
Eric Beech)
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