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Fifth Infection Confirmed At U Of O

KLCC

A fifth University of Oregon student has tested positive for the meningococcemia bacteria. This is the first confirmed case since a student died of the illness last month.

The student is a sophomore who lives at the Capstone complex in downtown Eugene. He was diagnosed Thursday with the bacteria that can cause a deadly blood infection. Mike Eyster is Executive Director of the U of O Health Center. He says they alerted the campus community immediately:

Eyster: “One of the important messages that we want to get out to students is that if they haven’t had their first dose of the vaccine they need to do that. We don’t want them to forget about it or let it slip.”

Eyster hopes finals and spring break won’t be a distraction. More than one third of students have gotten the vaccine. Eyster says they got in touch with students who had close contact with the sophomore and encouraged them to take antibiotics in addition to being vaccinated.

The student is doing well and has a good prognosis for recovery.

The U of O is holding a vaccination clinic at Capstone this (Thursday) afternoon from 4-7 for residents. 

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.
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