TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee Community College student died last month after being found unconscious in her West 10 apartment. The diagnosis: acute meningitis.
What exactly is meningitis and are others now at risk?
She died of a deadly disease called meningitis. A swelling of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms? An intense headache.
"Nausea, vomiting, and sometimes the early symptoms are, 'Oh I just have a bad cold,'" said Dr. Perry Brown, Professor of Public Health at Florida A&M University.
Meningitis is contracted through close person to person contact, like if you sneeze or cough on someone. So how do you avoid getting it?
"My recommendation is to get vaccinated, it's the best prevention," said Dr. Brown.
He said the first line of defense is to wash your hands religiously and disinfect all surfaces. In light of Jessie Melcolm's recent death, should meningitis vaccinations be mandatory for all students at our local colleges?
They are not mandatory at TCC, FAMU or FSU and students we spoke to were divided on whether or not they would be getting the vaccination.
"I think self healing would be best, there are some things that you need a little help with but I don't think that would help because some things are untreatable," said Jakoshi Carruth, TCC student.
"Just a safe bet, just get one [vaccination] anyway," said Timothy Potter, TCC student.
Is this a public health issue? Officials at the Florida Department of Health in Leon County has confirmed that the cause of the meningitis in Jessie Melcolm's case is not a public health issue.
TCC released the following statement Wednesday:
TCC was advised at the outset of the health investigation that there was nothing the College should do concerning the matter. The College was told that it would be notified if there was ever a "public health action," which never occurred.
