(CU Independent/Molly Maher)
CU students have mixed reactions after a number of their peers received preventative treatment for meningitis at Wardenburg and other healthcare providers.
According to an e-mail advisory from the administration sent on April 9, a 20-year-old Metropolitan State College student died from bacterial meningitis after he had attended a party in Boulder on the 700 block of 36th Street the night of April 2.
Lillie Parker, an 18-year-old freshman MCD biology major, said she thinks students should be more cautious.
“I think it’s a warning sign to be more careful if you do go out and party,” Parker said.
However, Anastasia Trus, a 21-year old senior political science major, said she is not concerned by the incident.
“If it’s just one case it doesn’t worry me; if it was like the flu and a big outbreak then I would be worried,” Trus said.
Dr. Pamela Talley of Warndenburg Health Center said in an interview with the CU Independent on Monday that meningitis is most frequently spread when people “congregate closely.”
Amanda Sniadach, a 21-year-old junior MCD biology major, said she thinks about how to protect her health while at parties and large social events.
“If I set down my beer, I just get a new one” Sniadach said. “I never try to find it again.”
Although not worried about the case of meningitis that recently occurred, Trus said she too takes measures to prevent illness while she is out socializing.
“I try to not share my cup and to wash my hands and disinfect,” Trus said.
According to the Wardenburg Web site, symptoms of meningitis include high fever, nausea, headache, neck stiffness, lethargy, vomiting, confusion or rashes.
According the administration’s e-mail advisory, general information concerning meningitis and this particular incident can be obtained on a recorded line at 303-492-8741.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lauren Knobbe at Lauren.knobbe@colorado.edu.
