Meningitis victim likely isolated case, officials say

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Aug 1, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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LSU student Kaleigh Lynn Guy, of Greensburg, who died from bacterial meningitis Wednesday night, was described by friends as an all-American girl with a great personality who loved to get dressed up.

Guy, 22, first showed severe symptoms Monday night and was hospitalized early Tuesday at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center before succumbing late Wednesday, friends said.

About 25 of Guy’s co-workers at LSU Tiger Talk and those she was recently in contact with have been treated and showed no symptoms of the infectious and often fatal disease, said Tim Honigman, LSU Student Health Center medical director.

Guy lived off campus and was not enrolled in summer classes, so there was no significant fear of a potential meningitis outbreak on campus, interim LSU Chancellor William Jenkins said in an e-mail.

“The people who worked with her have been coming in to receive … medication,” Honigman said. “There have been no signs of any secondary cases. Everyone’s been well.”

Students who live in dormitories are at greater risk for outbreaks because of the confined quarters, he said. But that is not a concern because Guy did not live on campus.

State law was approved in 2006 requiring incoming college students to show proof of meningitis vaccination.

But the vaccines, which include four meningitis strains, are still only 90 percent effective, said Marilyn Reynaud, medical director for the state Office of Public Health’s Baton Rouge region.

“Meningitis can progress rapidly — sometimes just within hours,” Reynaud said. “But at this point it appears to be an isolated case.”

Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord, according to meningitis.org. Meningitis is usually bacterial or viral, and occasionally is due to fungal infections, although almost any microbe can cause it.

The infections most often are spread between people who are in close contact, according KidsHealth.com.

Common symptoms include high fever, headaches and neck stiffness, Reynaud said. But meningitis also can cause sleeplessness, confusion and pain from bright lights, she said.

Anyone with symptoms should seek immediate help, Reynaud said.