When I received an e-mail today about a possible deadly case of Meningitis in a Roanoke College student… I secretly hoped it wasn’t true.. that it was just a rumor.. because it hurts my heart to talk about tragedy in the news…

To me it is definitely a tragedy for anyone to suddenly die and in this case a young woman who was a track athlete for Roanoke College… a great employee… and I have no doubt a wonderful daughter… to come down with Meningitis one day and be dead the next… Where did the bacteria come from?  The health department does an investigation to try to find its origin… but that can be like looking for a “DNA” needle in a haystack if you are trying to make sure the form of it matches the form Renee had.

There is a vaccine that is supposed to prevent it… Had she had that vaccine?  Roanoke College requires it unless a student signs a waiver and that is of course information that only Renee’s family would be able to share.  And if she had the vaccine and still got meningitis then what does that say for its effectiveness?

As I searched the Centers for Disease Control’s website for clarification about the vaccine I found that there are some people who should get the vaccine and then a booster follow up within 3-5 years.

But the CDC’s link to more information from the Immunization Action Coalition specifically states that, “Students living in on-campus housing are not included in the at-risk group to receive second doses of MCV4 vaccine.”

The health department says some people walk around with this bacteria in their bodies and may never have a reaction to it.. that brings to mind other illnesses we have talked about in the past… West Nile Virus… MRSA…. H1N1…

The human body is a medical mystery in so many ways because each of us has a different reaction to different germs, viruses or bacteria we come in contact with… someone may have a mild case of H1N1 while a family member may have to go to the hospital with complications… why did H1N1 hurt young healthy adults more than others?  Certainly there were a lot of theories out there… but did we really ever know for sure?

The same goes for Meningitis.. we are scared of what we don’t know.. and we don’t know exactly why one person has a severe reaction… and one person doesn’t.

We sometimes forget what the main symptoms are which include a fever, headache and stiff neck… because we never think that we are going to be the one who gets it… we don’t think to get medical attention immediately because we live in a society where “we tough out” “wait out” or assume illnesses will get better on their own in a day or two.

The health department says there is no public health threat because Meningitis is not spread through casual contact.  Only Renee’s close friends, co-workers and family were given antibiotics as a precaution.

I have no doubt that the health department is correct in its assessment that there is no public health threat in this case.  However, I will pay much closer attention to any signs or symptoms that fall in line with that of Meningitis.  And I am not convinced that any one of us knows for sure what exactly will or will not protect us from any particular disease… by nature they are all unpredictable to some degree.

My heart goes out to this young woman’s family and anyone else who has lost a loved one to meningitis or has experienced severe complications because of it.

Link to more information from the Centers for Disease Control regarding Meningitis

Link to more information from Roanoke College about Renee Rhodes