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USF Officials Urge Calm After Meningitis Infects Student

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2007

Updated: 09/23/2007 09:43 pm

TAMPA - A University of South Florida health official picked up the ringing phone Sunday morning and told yet another student not to worry about bacterial meningitis.

Lots of students have been calling since school officials announced Saturday night that a USF co-ed had meningitis.

"If you have what this student has, you'd be in the hospital," said Egilda Terenzi, director of USF health services. "It's very aggressive. It's an extremely aggressive disease."

Rachel Futterman, a 19-year-old member of the Delta Gamma sorority, became ill Friday and went to the hospital Saturday, according to a USF news release.

The university's Student Health Services and the Hillsborough County Health Department identified about 40 people who might have had contact with her, Terenzi said. By late Sunday, Futterman had been treated with a strong antibiotic.

Bacterial meningitis is a potentially fatal infection that strikes about 3,000 Americans annually and is responsible for about 300 deaths each year, according to USF. Early symptoms -- sometimes mistaken for the flu -- include fever, a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, rash and lethargy.

The illness is commonly passed on by kissing, coughing and by people sharing drinking glasses or cigarettes. The bacteria that cause meningitis are not as contagious as those responsible for the common cold and flu. They are not spread by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anyone who may have had contact with Futterman and has symptoms should immediately contact a physician.

She did not attend classes Thursday, when she would have been most contagious, Terenzi said.

"She was quite ill, and she was being cared for by her sorority sisters," she said.

Terenzi would not discuss Futterman's condition, other than to say it is serious.

When university officials learned she was ill, they sent an e-mail to students and talked to her friends and roommates, letting them know about meningitis. At least 100 students and their families spoke to Terenzi on the phone or in person Sunday, asking for information about meningitis.

"The people calling are mostly worried students and worried parents that want information on meningitis," Terenzi said. "Those who know her have been coming in to health services."

Last month, the CDC began a campaign to encourage parents to vaccinate 11- and 12-year-old children against several life-threatening diseases, including meningitis.

Many students likely will seek a meningitis vaccination today from Student Health Services, which will have more than 200 doses available and more on the way, if needed.

The center is open to students from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Vaccinations cost $90. For information, students can call (813) 974-2331.

Reporter Jason Geary contributed to this report. Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

Reporter Jason Geary contributed to this report. Information from Tribune archives was used in this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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