A Palomar College student has been diagnosed with meningococcal disease, the San Diego County health department said Thursday.
County health officials said they have notified anyone who was in close contact with the student. Individuals who came in close contact with the student, whose age and gender were not released, are being told that they should take antibiotics to prevent possible infection.
The student didn't come in close contact with any others at Palomar College in San Marcos. The student had only attended one class in the past three weeks, health officials said.
"The risk to individuals who have not had close contact with the infected individual is very low," said Dr. Dean Sidelinger with the county Health and Human Services Agency.
The Palomar student is being treated at a hospital and had no known connection to Sara Stelzer, the 18-year-old San Diego State University student who died Saturday from meningococcal disease. Stelzer's death from meningococcal disease was the second in the county this year. A Patrick Henry High School student died in February.
Sidelinger said that two cases in such a short period of time does not constitute an outbreak.
“This is still below what we normally see, as this is our eighth case in 2014," he said. "In 2013, there were 16 cases of meningococcal disease reported in the county, and over the last decade, we average about eleven cases a year.”
The Health and Human Services Agency said the meningococcal bacteria can be spread through close contact, such as sharing drinking glasses, eating utensils, cigarettes or pipes, or water bottles; kissing; and living in close quarters. The time between exposure to the disease and the onset of symptoms can be two to 10 days.
Symptoms of meningococcal disease may include fever, intense headache, lethargy, a stiff neck and/or a rash that does not blanch under pressure. Anyone with potential exposure who develops any of those symptoms should immediately contact a health-care provider or emergency room for an evaluation for possible meningococcal disease, health officials said.
County health officials said a vaccine is available to prevent certain strains of meningococcal disease and is routinely recommended for children and adolescents 11 to 18 years old. Officials recommended pre-teen and adolescent children have up-to-date vaccines.
Information about vaccine-preventable diseases is available at sdiz.org.
