Corvallis faculty, staff and students,
We are writing to provide a public health reminder as an Oregon State University Corvallis student is being treated at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for meningococcal disease.
This disease is not highly contagious and is transmitted through direct contact with a person who is ill with meningococcal disease. This could include contact with droplets from coughing or sneezing; other discharges from the nose or throat; or by sharing eating and drinking utensils, smoking devices; or intimate contact.
Benton County health officials say customarily individuals at risk of catching meningococcal disease have spent at least four hours cumulatively in close, face-to-face association with a person suffering from the disease within seven days before the illness started.
Symptoms of the disease include high fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal discomfort, and stiff neck. Some people do not get meningitis, but they contract an infection of the bloodstream, which causes high fever and a rash. This rash develops rapidly and usually appears on the armpits, groin and ankles, as well as in areas where elastic pressure is applied.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, please immediately visit your primary care physician, OSU Student Health Services, or a nearby urgent care medical clinic or emergency room.
The best way to prevent meningococcal disease is by vaccination.
More information on meningococcal disease is available by calling the OSU Student Health Services Nurse Advice line at 541-737-2724 or Benton County Health Department communicable disease nurses at 541-766-6835 or by visiting these websites:
http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/infectious-diseases/meningococcal-disease
or
http://public.health.oregon.gov/DiseasesConditions/DiseasesAZ/Pages/disease.aspx?did=51
Sincerely,
Mike Green Susie Brubaker-Cole
Interim Vice President Vice Provost
Finance and Administration Student Affairs
