Published April 7, 2011

This post was written by Meena Ganesan.

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A health issue that hasn’t faded since its rise in college dorm rooms 10 years ago is back in the news: meningitis.

A 21-year-old college student at Franklin Pierce University died Tuesday night from bacterial meningitis at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, according to a report in the Telegram & Gazette.

Sophomore Benjamin Plante was a commuter student at the New Hampshire college. He had come home Friday with a sore throat. His father Steven Plante said he had complained of achy, flu-like symptoms over the weekend.

The Centers for Disease Control describes bacterial meningitis as an “infection in the membranes that covers the brain and spinal cord.” The disease is different than the less serious viral meningitis, which can generally be cleared up by treatment. In cases that don’t result in death, bacterial meningitis can cause brain damage or hearing loss.

The CDC’s symptoms for bacterial meningitis are similar to those of viral meningitis and include:

• High fever
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Nausea, vomiting
• Stiff neck
• Pressure-related rash

WBUR spoke with Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, New Hampshire’s deputy state epidemiologist. She said there’s one vaccine available for the strain of meningitis called Neisseria meningitidis. Since 2006, according to Odom, the vaccine has decreased the fatality rate of meningitis.

The CDC says college students are at an increased risk for meningitis because of their close-quarter living situations. But Odom says different colleges different have entrance requirements for immunizations. Some require the vaccine, while some only recommend it.