Life Time Fitness Offers Bacterial Meningitis Warnings after Employee Diagnosed

Kristy Malter, a 21-year-old Life Time Fitness employee, has died after contracting bacterial meningitis. They also say she was a member of their cheer team, was smart and adored children.

“A person must have direct contact with an infected person’s saliva or nasal secretions”.

“I cant imagine what you are going through right now, ” wrote Zimmerman to the womans mother. “There has to be a significant amount of contact, such as if you’re living in the same household, or if it’s a paramedic intubating a patient”.

The Macomb County Health Department has confirmed that a county resident has died from the bacterial infection, but did not release the victim’s name. Both news outlets reported Malter was on life support Thursday as unconfirmed reports of her death surfaced on social media and other news organizations. While most people with the infection recover, it can cause permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss and learning disabilities.

Health officials and the facility are now scrambling to contact parents who had their kids in the camp at the time Malter was working, June 1 through 11.

George Miller, director of Oakland County Department of Health and Human Services, said they are notifying parents of the children who attended the camp between July 1-14. According to Detroit Free Press, the only information disclosed to the public about the infected patient is that he lives in Macomb County and has been hospitalized for bacterial meningitis.

A young college cheerleader known for her caring nature died from bacterial meningitis and now some parents at the gym where she was a day camp counselor for hundreds of kids are anxious.

“Over the past three decades, there has been a remarkably impressive decrease – vaccines have cut (meningitis diagnosis) rates in half and even lower than that”.

The kids are ages 5-12.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bacterial meningitis can be deadly. The site also says: “Death can occur in as little as a few hours”.

Health officials said the individual can not be identified due to laws protecting personal health information, but they noted that the affected person is an adult who lives in Macomb County and has been hospitalized from the illness.

The Macomb County Health Department has a fact sheet on its website that indicates meningitis is usually caused by viral or bacterial infection. “(Prophylaxis) Antibiotics and supportive medicine is given if the person has meningococcal disease, but they can not always prevent death or long term deficits”.