San Diego State student with meningitis remains on life support

The 18-year-old student at San Diego State University stricken with meningococcal meningitis remains on life support as doctors look for possible “recipients [for] some of her vital organs,” the university said late Friday.

A statement issued by the university earlier in the day said that Sara Stelzer had died and that the university is “deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students to this terrible illness.”

The statement was made after consultation with her family, which “had decided to say farewell to their daughter,” according to university spokesman Greg Block.

But the transplantation process apparently has taken longer than anticipated, Block said.

“Our message this morning was acting in accordance with the family’s wishes to offer condolences to our university community and provide information to our grieving students,” Block said.

Stelzer, from Moorpark, was taken to the hospital Tuesday with flu-like symptoms that were diagnosed as meningitis.

The university has recommended that students who may have come into contact with Stelzer seek antibiotic treatments. More than 400 students showed up at the campus health center Friday to sign up for such treatments.

While meningitis can be deadly, it cannot be spread through casual contact, according to San Diego County public health officials.

The county averages about 10 cases a year, officials said.

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