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Despite vaccine, meningitis takes teen's life
Strain of bacterial disease kills immunized Bentley freshman
By Tania deLuzuriaga, Globe Staff | October 10, 2007
When Bentley College freshman Erin M. Ortiz went home sick last weekend,
her mother did what any mother might do. She cooked comfort foods - corned
beef, rice, and plantains - reflecting her daughter's Puerto Rican and
Irish heritage.
"It was her favorite meal," said Brenda Rivera, a family friend.
But just hours after complaining of a headache and going to bed to sleep it
off, Ortiz, 18, was dead of bacterial meningitis, a disease against which
she had been vaccinated. Now, Ortiz's family hopes others will learn from
their story.
"I'm all cried out," said her father, Raymond Ortiz. "I've got a hole in my
heart. I don't think I'll ever be the same."
"We thought she'd be covered," he said. "They don't tell you that even if
you get the vaccine, you're still susceptible.
Like most incoming freshmen, Ortiz was vaccinated last summer.
Massachusetts law requires all college students to receive the vaccine. But
it protects only about 85 percent of recipients and is not effective
against all strains of the bacteria that cause infection in the brain and
spinal fluid, which can result in brain damage, hearing loss, learning
disability, or death.
"I wish we had a vaccine that worked 100 percent of the time," said Dr.
Richard A. Moriarty, a professor of clinical pediatrics at the University
of Massachusetts Medical School. "But this is certainly better than not
being immunized."
Doctors aren't sure yet what strain of meningitis Ortiz contracted or if
she was one of the rare people the vaccine does not protect.
Ortiz first complained of feeling sick on Friday when she arrived home in
New Hampton, N.Y., to see her family for the long weekend. She went to bed
early and slept until the next afternoon.
On Saturday, her mother, Cathy, cooked her favorite dinner. That night, she
woke with a terrible headache and her parents decided to take her to the
hospital.
"She got dressed and walked down to the car," Raymond Ortiz said. "She
walked into the emergency room."
Not long after, though, Ortiz's condition went downhill and she developed a
fever of nearly 105 degrees. A spinal tap revealed meningitis, something
the family had thought was not possible.
"When they told us, we were like, 'How can this be?' " Raymond Ortiz said.
Though she initially appeared to respond to antibiotics, by 7 p.m. Sunday,
Ortiz had taken a final turn for the worse, the pressure on her brain
causing irreversible damage.
"There's a spiritual connection you have," Raymond Ortiz said. "We looked
at her and we knew she wasn't there."
Doctors kept her alive until Monday morning to harvest her organs.
In response to the case, Bentley College officials have been in touch with
more than 50 students who had contact with Ortiz. About 30 of them have
been given preventive antibiotics, said Gerri Taylor, the director of
health services at the college.
"We are working day and night to identify students who may have had contact
with her," she said. "It's a health service's worst nightmare. It's a
college's worst nightmare."
Bacterial meningitis is less common and more lethal than viral meningitis.
The bacteria, which can live undetected in the nose or throat, are more
common on college campuses, where students living in close quarters can
easily spread the bacteria by sharing drinks, cigarettes, or lip gloss.
Massachusetts recorded 21 cases of bacterial meningitis last year.
"It's a nasty little bug," Raymond Ortiz said. "It can take away your
shining star in 36 hours, just like it did mine."
Tania deLuzuriaga can be reached at
deluzuriaga@
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.