Third Santa Clara University student confirmed with meningococcal infection

Despite the cluster of cases, Cody says the Super Bowl-related event scheduled for Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium on campus can go on because officials are spending this week meeting with hundreds of students who may have had contact with their infected classmates.

“We share the university community’s concern and join the students’ friends and family in wishing for a quick recovery”, the health department said in a separate letter to students and staff.

Administrators at the South Bay university and county health officials have been working to find students who may have come into close contact with the three afflicted students when they were contagious.

Health officials said one of the students suffered meningococcal meningitis, an infection of the brain and spine, while the other had developed meningococcemia, an infection of the bloodstream.

Infections can lead to hearing loss, brain damage, loss of limbs or, as seen in the Alameda case, death, according to the California Department of Public Health. They have also been administered oral antibiotics in order to minimize risks as much as possible.

One of the two undergraduate students from the prominent Jesuit institution tested positive for meningococcal meningtis and apparently contracted the serogroup B strain of the illness.

“There’s not very much transparency”, said Suparna Jasuja, a senior from Los Altos who doesn’t personally know the two affected students.

She said the vaccine is a two-dose regimen; students will need to return for the second shot in a month. Follow her at Twitter.com/taseipel.

An additional clinic will be held Friday from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m.at the same location. The symptoms of meningitis include the sudden onset of fever, headache, and stiff neck.

Symptoms of septicemia are fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea and chills, among other traits, public health officials said.

Meningococcal meningitis, a bacteria most common in Africa, is carried in the throat and transmitted by saliva and mucus during “prolonged close contact”, often by kissing, sneezing, coughing and sharing eating utensils, according to the World Health Organization. Also, it can result in the development of a dark purple or red rash and confusion.

People with these symptoms should seek urgent medical attention.