Meningitis scare finished; infected woman released

A visiting Shippensburg University student diagnosed with meningitis last week was released from Hershey Medical Center yesterday.

The woman, who attended a party Jan. 30 at Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, 321 Fraternity Row, prompted Penn State officials to urge students who attended the party to seek preventive treatment with University Health Services.

Dr. Larry Dansky, UHS physician and manager of general medicine, said the particular type of meningitis the woman suffered from affects the fluid in the spinal canal and has a high mortality rate. Factors such as alcohol consumption and fatigue can heighten the chance of infection, he said.

"There are a lot of people who carry the meningitis bacteria and can transmit it to other people," Dansky said.

Dansky said 375 students were treated at Ritenour Building. No secondary cases of meningitis have been reported, he said.

--by Carrie Dzwil