SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - At least three San Diego State University students came down with meningitis, a campus sorority confirmed Friday.
SDSU's Alpha Phi sorority confirmed to 10News that three freshman students living in the campus' dormitories were sickened by meningitis. They were in the hospital receiving care but are now out and expected to be okay.
Two of the meningitis cases were bacterial while the third was viral, according to the sorority, though SDSU health officials said they haven't received reports of any bacterial cases, only viral. All three students had been reportedly complaining of headaches and backaches that wouldn't go away.
The sorority told 10News they knew of two other girls in a different sorority and at least one male also came down with meningitis but did not want to identify their chapters.
In a statement to 10News, SDSU said they are working with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency to monitor the reported cases:
Currently, we are not aware of any confirmed cases of bacterial meningitis among members of the San Diego State University community. We have been notified by the County that there are confirmed cases of viral meningitis among the SDSU student community. The primary difference between viral and bacterial meningitis is that most individuals who contract viral meningitis see improved health within 7 to 10 days while bacterial meningitis can lead to serious or severe health complications that do not typically resolve on its own. Student Health Services officials will continue to work closely with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency to ensure that the campus community is informed of this ongoing health matter, to ensure that members of our community can make informed decisions about how to best minimize risk to themselves and others.
Campus health officials also reminded students of the importance of practicing good health habits with flu season setting into San Diego County. Officials also noted that while students are not required to receive the meningitis vaccine, it's strongly recommended they do so.
