CMU student dies of meningitis

Sat, May 10, 2008

MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) — A Central Michigan University student has died of a bacterial form of meningitis.

The university said in a news release Thursday the Ottawa County Health Department announced the death.

Twenty-six-year-old LaMott Smith died Wednesday of meningococcal meningitis. The Sterling Heights man fell ill Tuesday in Coopersville.

Health departments want to identify people who may have come in close contact with Smith since April 22. That would include roommates, significant others or anyone who may have shared beverages or eating utensils with him.

At-risk individuals would be treated with antibiotics.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord and brain.