Blood Infection Kills USC Student
A 19-year-old USC freshman died last week of a blood condition resulting from the same bacteria that cause meningitis, university officials said Monday.
The student, Jared Chesser of Cincinnati, came to the university’s health clinic last Monday with flu-like symptoms, and died the next day of meningococcal infection at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, said USC spokeswoman Zsa Zsa Gershick.
Dr. Lawrence Neinstein, a pediatrician and director of the campus clinic, said Chesser’s death does not indicate that there has been an outbreak of infection from the bacteria.
Neinstein said Chesser did not have meningitis, which is an infection of the spinal cord or brain.
The bacteria are present in about 5% of the population and tend to spread on college campuses because students live in close proximity in dormitories and may share food, cutlery or cigarettes.
As a precaution, the university will provide free vaccinations against the infection Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Topping Student Center.
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