Olivia Arbogast • For The Post
Six Ohio University students were diagnosed with meningitis - five bacterial and one viral - during the past three years, while most other four-year public universities in Ohio have reported one or no cases.
Meningitis is a potentially deadly inflammation of membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and college students living on campus are often susceptible to the infection.
The University of Toledo, Miami University and Ohio State University, which does not track viral meningitis, all reported one case during the last three years, while Bowling Green State University officials said it has one or fewer cases a year. Other state universities reported no cases.
I don't know (why OU has more cases)
said David Hopka, OU's assistant vice president for safety and risk management. Maybe OU students just work and play harder, he joked.
Common symptoms of meningitis include fever, headache and a stiff neck, according to the CDC. It spreads through the exchange of fluids.
The bacteria that carries meningitis is carried in people's noses said Amanda Cohn, a meningitis specialist at the CDC.
Viral meningitis, the less severe form, generally clears up without treatment, while bacterial meningitis is sometimes fatal and requires antibiotics. The state has reported 32 cases of bacterial meningitis so far this year, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Twenty to 30 percent of individuals carry around meningitis at a given time so any students with weakened immune systems may be contracting it
OU's Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said.
While OU takes proactive measures by disinfecting the residence halls, the university urges students to take matters into their own hands.
Really most of those measures need to be taken by students since it is spread through respiratory infection
Lombardi said, adding that students can reduce the risk of contracting meningitis by exercising, eating well, getting sleep, and not sharing drinks or personal items with others. It is more of a personal thing for the student to take precaution
he said.
OU saw its first case of meningitis for this academic year last weekend when Charlie Wulf, a freshman living in James Hall on West Green, was hospitalized with a confirmed case of the bacterial strand.
I'm sick right now
so I am a little worried (about meningitis)
said Kevin Sullivan, a freshman in the University College. (Wulf) was in my math class.
College students in Ohio are not required to receive the meningitis vaccine, but an Ohio Senate bill, currently in the House of Representatives, could require students be vaccinated.
Two of the OU students diagnosed with bacterial meningitis last year had received the vaccine.
Hudson Health Center currently has 21 doses of the vaccine available as of Monday, and Interim Director of Student Health Services Jackie Legg said the center has ordered more.
We try to keep a certain amount on hand at a time
Legg said.
Students living in the dorms are required to indicate whether or not they have received the meningitis vaccine. In April, The Columbus Dispatch reported that about 4,000 OU students and about 5,000 OSU students had been vaccinated against meningitis. Other Ohio universities do not track how many students have received the vaccine; they only record the number of meningitis vaccines distributed or return inquires about the number of vaccinated students.
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