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Sep 10, 2007 10:00 pm US/Eastern
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Meningitis Death Raises Questions At Penn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
The University of Pennsylvania issued a health alert after a student in her sophomore year died from meningococcal meningitis.
Anne Ryan, 19, was hospitalized Saturday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with the critical illness and died early Sunday morning. It is unclear how or when she contracted the disease.
University officials took measures to prevent the disease from being transmitted and informed students through e-mail of Ryan's death. They have directly notified and were treating those who were in close contact with Ryan, including her off-campus roommates, as a precaution.
Students are still understandably worried despite the campus' efforts to educate them on the deadly disease.
"It's a little bit scary, I am not going to lie. We were just talking at lunch. What if you sat at that desk after that student," said student Sasha Wilcox.
"I thought that everyone was vaccinated before coming to Penn," said another student.
State law in Pennsylvania requires that incoming students be vaccinated; however Penn offers a waiver form for students with medical conditions or religious beliefs that prohibit immunizations.
"Meningitis is not something that you can rely on everyone else mostly being vaccinated will prevent you from getting it. Everyone should get that vaccine, it's very important, said Dr. Richard Hamilton of the Drexel College of Medicine.
For more information, university officials offered the following link about
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