A week after UF sent out a mass email to the Student Body, no new information is available on the student hospitalized with meningococcal disease.
Nadia Kovacevich, an epidemiologist at the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County, said the department has located everyone who was in contact with the student.
“Everyone that was considered high risk was located and informed of the disease,” she said. “The university was given the information to make sure that we didn’t need to contact any other high risk individuals.”
Jamie Kerzner, a 19-year-old UF biology sophomore, attended Coral Gables Senior High School in Miami with the Georgetown University student who died in September from meningitis.
“From what I’ve heard from other friends, when she got to the hospital it was too late,” she said. “I’m not sure if she thought she just had a cold, but it’s very unfortunate and very sad.”
Kerzner said the idea of getting the disease is worrisome.
“I just need to be aware of my health,” she said. “That goes for everyone. I think everyone has a complex where they think they can tough it out.”
Meningococcal disease, a type of meningitis caused by a bacteria carried by people in their nasal passages or throat, can spread from person to person until the germ is no longer present, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Prevention for contracting the disease includes vaccinations, avoidance of sharing eating utensils and covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.
Talking to a health care provider and making sure the appropriate testing is done is another way to prevent the disease, Kovacevich said.
No other cases of the disease have been reported.
Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and altered mental status, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/9/2014]
