OSU Offers Preventive Meningitis Rx To Some Students

Students and friends of an OSU student who died have been told they may want to seek prophylactic treatment for meningitis. Ohio State has notified approximately 130 students and some others that they may have been exposed to bacterial meningitis. Christopher Koger, 23, was found dead in his apartment on Lane Avenue Friday. And the Franklin County Coroner says he likely died from the deadly strain of meningitis. Ruth Gerstner is communications director for OSU's Office of Student Life. Gerstner said students who are notified, or anyone else with concerns, can seek assistance at the student health center. "Talk with a physician there, and if advisable, then they will be given the antibiotic, which is just a single pill, and there will be no charge for that," she said. Meningitis is spread through close person-to-person contact such coughing or sharing a drink. Gerstner said this is the second meningitis death at OSU's main campus since 1998. Another student died at the Mansfield branch in 2006. A number of students have contracted meningitis through the years but have recovered. Koger was from the Cleveland area, and he was a fourth-year English major. Ohio State, in May, will hold a memorial service for him and other students who have passed away during the year.