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Case of meningitis at Catz

 

A St Catz student is recovering from meningitis, having been hospitalised over the weekend.
Sarah Hartley, a fresher reading English, was rushed to John Radcliffe hospital on Sunday morning after complaining of feeling unwell and developing a rash.

Fellow student Janek Seevaratnam, who took Hartley to hospital, has been praised for his handling of the situation and his response as her condition worsened.

Seevaratnam, who is JCR welfare Rep and a friend of Hartley’s, said he had looked after her as her condition deteriorated on Saturday. “I visited her on Saturday as she had been in bed all day with flu-like symptoms.  I gave her ibuprofen to see her through the evening but when I came back at eleven she was really feverish.”

Seevaratnam took Hartley to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning following advice from the NHS helpline after noticing the rash. “The NHS helpline advised she see a doctor in the next two hours, so we went to A&E. It took three hours to see a doctor by which time she had a high fever and meningitis symptoms.”

Seevaratnam said Hartley had been visited by friends while her family remained by her bedside as she continues to make a full recovery. “People have been visiting her daily and hopefully she’ll be sent home next week.”

JCR President Femi Fadugba said the College had acted swiftly to ensure her close friends were given precautionary treatment and to raise awareness among all College members about the risks and symptoms of meningitis. “Meningitis isn’t easily transferable, but as a precaution, all close friends of the student were put on an appropriate course of antibiotics. The emphasis however, has not been on trying to avoid interaction with the illness, but on being aware of the signs and symptoms.”

Fadugba praised the rapid reaction of Seevaratnam, saying, “We were very fortunate that the Male Welfare Rep, Janek Seevaratnam, is both very good at his job and a good friend of the student so she was taken to hospital as soon as the [the] symptoms worsened.”

Meningitis is caused by the Meningoccal bacteria that are carried in the back of the throat by one in ten people. Bacterial meningitis the most dangerous variant of the infection and kills about ten per cent of those who contract it. It was responsible for the death last Michaelmas Term of Exeter fresher Sundeep Watts.

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