OSU student diagnosed with meningococcal disease

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) – Health officials say an Oregon State University student on the Corvallis campus has been diagnosed with meningococcal disease.
 
News outlets reported the student fell ill Wednesday.
 
Benton County Environmental Health Director Bill Emminger says the student’s health had improved Friday, but he didn’t have specifics on the student’s condition.
 
The health department is running tests to determine the strain of meningococcal disease.
 
Emminger says medical professionals are working to identify anyone who had close contact with the ill student and provide them with preventative antibiotics.
 
Symptoms include the sudden onset of a fever, stiff neck and headache. It can also cause flu-like symptoms and nausea, vomiting and a rash.
 
The disease isn’t highly contagious, Emminger said, but is spread through saliva and respiratory droplets.
 
A University of Oregon student died from meningococcal disease in 2015.