This past Friday an 18-year-old student at San Diego State
University passed away from meningitis. Sara Stelzer, a freshman at the
university, started showing flu-like symptoms earlier that week, but when they
diagnosed her it was too late. Meningitis is an infection of the brain and the
spinal cord with symptoms that show three to seven days after exposure. The
university is doing their best to inform the four hundred people they think she
came in contact with while she was affected. Sara was a part of a sorority and
also attended two fraternity parties earlier that week which adds people to the
long list that could possibly be infected. Thankfully, this disease can only be
shared through “close contact with respiratory secretions”, which means it
cannot be spread with casual contact.
This article was written by Saundra Young from CNN on
October 18. It’s tragic how these deadly diseases are suddenly becoming a large
threat to our society. Living in this technologically advanced world we usually
feel confident in the medications available to any diseases, but recently we
have had quite the scare. First with Ebola throughout the Dallas metroplex and
now with meningitis in southern California, these diseases seem to be slowly
but steadily appearing and threatening. This time reminds me of the Black
Plague in Europe, but obviously the death rate is nowhere close to it however
every deadly plague starts somewhere (insert deep dramatic voice).
I really hope this disease doesn't spread. We already have enough problems in this world we don't need another one Like this.
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