An OU student is under observation today with a probable case of bacterial meningitis.
Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi confirmed in a news release about noon that junior Lindsay Harris was treated at O'Bleness Memorial Hospoital yesterday before being transferred to a hospital in Columbus. Harris is in stable condition.
I talked to her parents as early as this morning and they said she's doing fine
which is a good sign. Lombardi said.
Harris is a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and lives in the sorority's house adjacent to OU's campus.
Lombardi said this is the first case of bacterial meningitis known on campus since February, when freshman Andrea Robinson died after contracting the bacteria.
We don't yet know if this is the same strain as previous cases Lombardi said.
Several residents at the Alpha Delta Pi house, 101 S. Court St., said the sorority is not allowing them to comment.
Harris is the eighth OU student in two years to contract meningitis, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to declare an outbreak. The CDC visited campus in March to conduct an investigation of the outbreak after the first seven cases were found to be the same strain of meningitis. Although the center did not pinpoint any specific cause of the outbreak, representatives told OU that students should refrain from high-risk behavior which includes smoking, drinking, not getting enough sleep, sharing drinking glasses and having multiple sexual partners. Meningitis is spread through bodily fluids, according to a Post article published last month.
The CDC might make another trip to Athens as early as this winter to conduct a study on how many OU students carry the bacteria, Lombardi said last month. The center would test a sample population of students, on a voluntary basis, and compare the statistics with national averages. A person can be a carrier of bacterial meningitis without falling ill.
Stay with The Post for more details about the case.
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Tristan Navera
