The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday that its planned study of meningitis at Ohio University is on "indefinite hold" because of a lack of funding.
The CDC had planned to come to Athens this spring to examine the number of students currently serving as carriers of the virus, which has infected eight students since 2009.
The study was placed on hold because of a lack of funding, said Tom Skinner, a CDC spokesman.
Skinner would not say how much the study would have cost, adding that it is unclear if funds for the study will become available in the future.
"It's definitely not going to happen this academic year," said Ryan Lombardi, OU's dean of students.
OU was never told how much the study would have cost the CDC, Lombardi said, adding that expenditures would have included travel costs, lab work and compensation for the 1,000 or more student participants.
"We're certainly disappointed, but we also certainly understand because this was all on their bill," he said.
OU officials stress that this study would not have solved the university's meningitis problem but would have provided another piece of valuable information.
Since 2009, eight OU students have contracted bacterial meningitis - a potentially fatal infection where fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
All eight students contracted the Type B strand, for which there is no vaccination.
OU freshman Andrea Robinson died last February after contracting the virus, and earlier this week her father filed a lawsuit accusing Campus Care, formerly Hudson Health Center, of medical negligence.
Robinson's death, as well as the other meningitis cases last winter, prompted the CDC to investigate OU's meningitis problem, ultimately declaring it an outbreak.
OU will continue its meningitis education efforts even without the new CDC study, Lombardi said
In the last two months, OU has released a series of videos featuring meningitis facts and answering commonly asked questions. The university also plans to launch a new poster series as well as new videos featuring interviews with two of the OU students who survived meningitis last winter.
"We want to try to keep it on people's radar screen as much as possible," Lombardi said.
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