Death of freshman from meningitis is second at USC in less than one year

By Michael Falcone and Hemesh
Patel
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Meningitis cut short the life of a USC student Jan. 29 ““
the second incident of its kind in less than a year.

First-year student Jared Chesser died from a bacterial infection
that started with flu-like symptoms and acted quickly on his
nervous system. This rare infection afflicts approximately 100
college students every year. Chesser was 19.

Doctors at the Good Samaritan Hospital where Chesser died did
not immediately know the cause of his death, but the USC Student
Health Center said Friday it was Type C meningococcal meningitis
that took his life.

Bacterial meningitis is transmitted through direct contact with
secretions from the mouth and throat. Ten percent of those that
contract the type of meningitis Chesser had, die. Symptoms include
high fever, headaches and neck stiffness.

Though meningitis is rare, college students ““
especially those living in dorms ““ are among the groups most
at risk for the infection, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.

“In over 25 years only one case ““ in 1989 ““
was seen at UCLA Student Health Services,” said Ann Brooks,
nurse practitioner and manger at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and
Wellness Center.

Of the nine million people in Los Angeles County afflicted with
meningitis last year, 56 cases exhibited the same rare and deadly
strain which caused Chesser’s death.

Meningitis is highly treatable but must be caught early. A
meningitis vaccine is available, but not routinely offered in the
United States. Brooks said UCLA students who exhibit symptoms or
are concerned can be vaccinated for $78 at the Ashe Center.

Once the infection colonizes the nose area, it travels to the
brain and then begins to grow in the spinal fluid. It then
multiplies rapidly, releasing toxins in the body’s
system.

Melba Veza, program specialist for the Los Angeles County Health
Department, said 15 percent of the population carries the same type
of strain Chesser died from.

Although the meningococcus strain is not always fatal, it can on
rare occasions result in a death sentence for some of those who
contract it.

“It’s the ER doctor’s worst nightmare when a
patient comes in at 11 p.m. with a fever that looks like a cold and
the doctor sends him home and they come back four hours later
taking his last breath,” said Dr. Marshall Morgan, Chief of
Emergency Medicine at UCLA.