College Warns Students After Meningitis Death

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Bentley College is taking steps to ensure the safety of students on its campus after the death of a freshmen from bacterial meningitis over the weekend.

Erin Ortiz, 18, of Hampton, N.Y., died while visiting her parents during the Columbus Day holiday break.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that Ortiz got off the train and told her father she was extremely tired.

"She said she felt a little like she was coming down with the flu. On Saturday, slept in late and then went out to dinner with her family. About midnight (she) woke up her sister and said that her head felt so painful that she needed help. And as the father said to me last night, 'We lost our daughter in 36 hours,'" said Katherine Yorkis, Bentley's vice president of student affairs.

Ortiz lived in Miller Hall dormitory on the Waltham campus.

Meningitis has a one to 10 day incubation period and is spread through saliva. Close contact such as kissing or sharing food and drinks can spread it. With antibiotics, the illness can be treated if detected early on. Symptoms can include fever, nausea, headache and a stiff neck or neck pain.

"We've talked to at least 50 people and we've already prophylaxed or given antibiotic to at least 30," said Geraldine Taylor of Bentley Health Services.

Coincidentally, the student newspaper features a front-page story about college students being more prone to illness because of their poor eating and sleeping habits.

Ortiz' father wants all college students to hear a message:

"That they pay attention to the signals that their bodies send them that something is wrong. Because he feels strongly that in Erin's desire to be an active and involved college student she may not have paid enough serious attention to the signals her own body was sending her, that she really needed to seek medical attention," Yorkis said.

The school has notified all Bentley students of Ortiz death by e-mail and they plan to hold a service on campus for her.