Earlier this month, one Marist College student noticed her roommate suffering from strep throat, fever and aches in her joints. Shortly thereafter her roommate was dead.
Caitlin Boyle, 19, a junior at Marist College, died Nov. 17 of bacterial meningitis. She became the second person to die of meningitis at Marist in less than 10 years.
“She got achy to the point where she could not get out of bed because her legs hurt so much,” said Boyle’s roommate, who wished to remain anonymous.
Boyle had all of the common symptoms of meningitis. Gary Nelson, director of Fairfield’s Health Center, said that headache, fever, stiff joints, photophobia, nausea and vomiting are the most likely indicators of the disease.
“Symptoms aren’t the same for everyone,” said Nelson. “Sometimes the early symptoms of meningitis can be mistaken for the flu.”
Nelson added that there are two types of meningitis: viral and bacterial. Viral cannot be treated but is less severe than bacterial. Bacterial comes in five different strands: A, C, Y, W135 and B. Bacterial meningitis B cannot be prevented by the A meningitis vaccine. Connecticut passed a law in 2002 requiring all students living on campus to be vaccinated.
Even though New York does not require students to be vaccinated, Boyle had been vaccinated, according to the Marist Circle.
In the past month, meningitis has begun to plague students at some college campuses nationwide. One man from the University of Michigan is now recovering from Type C bacterial meningitis. He had been vaccinated as well.
Nelson did not recall any deaths here at Fairfield of meningitis. The last reported incidents were in 2001. Three students were confirmed to have contracted meningitis that year, according to Mirror reports.
“The best way to prevent meningitis is to get vaccinated,” said Nelson. “It will offer students 70 percent of coverage against the disease.”
Nelson added that there are other things students can do to avoid it, such as wash their hands, keep a bottle of Purell in their room, not share cups or cigarettes with other students and take care of themselves so their immune systems remain strong.
There are also antibiotics students can take if they have been in contact with someone who has contracted the disease.
“The school made my housemates and anyone who had been in contact with Caitlin take the antibiotic Cipro,” said her roommate. “We also had to go through our house and clean everything with disinfectant.”
Students who currently attend Fairfield have not encountered incidents in their time here. However, given the recent circumstances at other campuses, some are still concerned.
“As college students we do run ourselves down and live unhealthy lifestyles, which really makes us targets for something like this,” said Elizabeth Orgera ’06. “I am definitely going to be cautious about sharing cups during drinking games and try harder to keep myself healthy.”
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