Which bacterial meningitis killed a high school athlete last week will never be known, according to Salt Lake Valley Health Department spokeswoman Pamela Davenport.
Demi Candelaria, 15, a sophomore at Judge Memorial Catholic High School, died Tuesday after a brief but severe illness. Health officials suspected the cause was bacterial meningitis and urged those in close contact with the girl to take precautions in the form of a two-day dose of the antibiotic Rifampin.
They expected cultures taken from the girl to pinpoint the exact bacteria, but the antibiotics the girl was given to try to save her cleared the bacteria from the culture, health officials said. Tests came back "inconclusive," Davenport said.
She was tentatively diagnosed with bacterial meningitis because of the symptoms she displayed and the speed with which the illness progressed. Health officials said it was most likely Neisseria meningococcal meningitis.
Meningitis is an infection of the spinal cord fluid and tissue around the brain. Symptoms include severe headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea, sensitivity to bright lights, vomiting, confusion, sleepiness and possible seizures. It is spread through respiratory or nasal droplets, said Dr. Dagmar Vitek, Salt Lake Valley Health Department medical director. Symptoms may appear up to 10 days after exposure.
Meningitis kills about 300 people a year, according to Lynn Bozof, executive director of The National Meningitis Foundation. Meningitis killed Bozof's son, who was away at college, a few years ago.
There is a vaccine for meningitis, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College Health Association all recommend it for college-age students, particularly those living in dorms, Bozof said. The vaccine is effective for about three to five years.
"It's a devastating illness, and people are not as aware of it as they should be," Bozof said.
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