UW Student Treated for Meningitis

A University of Wyoming student has been hospitalized and is being treated after being diagnosed with meningitis.

“Although the risk to the campus community is low, as a precautionary measure, the university and the Wyoming Department of Health are identifying and reaching out to individuals who have had close, personal contact with the student, who lives off campus,” says Dr. Joanne Steane, director of the UW Student Health Service. “These individuals will be offered preventive treatment with the appropriate antibiotic.”

Although meningitis can be contagious, it is not as easily spread as the viruses that cause the common cold or influenza. Only some types of meningitis are contagious, and only some types require preventive antibiotics.

Additional information on meningitis may be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/meningitis/index.html.

The symptoms of meningitis include fever, headache and stiff neck. Any student who is concerned he or she may have meningitis should contact the Student Health Service. Faculty and staff members should contact their personal clinician’s office, the Albany Community Health Clinic, an urgent care facility or the Ivinson Memorial Hospital emergency room.