The U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen who was potentially infected with bacterial meningitis died at a Baltimore hospital Monday night.
What exactly caused the death of the unnamed 20-year-old male plebe or freshman was not known Monday night, said Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, an academy spokesman.
Recommended Stories
The academy will release the name and hometown of the midshipman Tuesday afternoon.
The midshipman was rushed to Baltimore-Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie last Wednesday after feeling ill. Officials said he was being treated for possible bacterial meningitis, which is the infection of the spinal cord or the fluid that surrounds the brain. The bacterial form of meningitis can cause brain damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The midshipman was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center Friday for additional treatment, but died Monday evening.
Soon after the midshipman was taken to the hospital, the academy gave antibiotics to 44 midshipmen, academy staff and first responders to counteract possible meningitis infection.
Carpenter said Monday night that “no other midshipman or faculty or staff member have presented signs of meningitis.”
Meningitis is spread through close personal contact with an infected person, usually through bodily fluids, medical officials said.
Funeral arraignments have not been finalized, Carpenter said.
Maryland has already had 18 possible cases of meningitis this year, and averages about 20 a year. Medical officials said meningitis deaths are rare, though officials are still determining if the midshipman had meningitis or if it was the cause of his death.
This midshipman is the fourth to die this year.
