Second Missouri Southern State athlete diagnosed with meningitis

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A second baseball player is being treated for the same meningitis believed to have killed a teammate at Missouri Southern State University, but officials say nobody else had reported symptoms as of Friday.

The second player was not named by university officials, citing medical privacy laws. Health officials in Joplin, where the university is located, said the young man was responding well to medical treatment.

The student was among a group of about 15 to 20 people at increased risk of infection because of their association with Danny Sickles, the Missouri Southern pitcher who died Saturday at his off-campus apartment. An autopsy found that Sickles, 20, died of bacterial meningitis.

The second student's infection is believed to be a direct result of contact with Sickles, said Ryan Talken, epidemiology coordinator for the Joplin City Health Department.

Missouri Southern spokesman Rod Surber said the second player was not one of Sickles' roommates. But Surber said the man also lives off campus.

As a result of the second positive test, the Joplin City Health Department has added a few people, mainly teammates and coaches, to the risk group, which now numbers about 30.

Those people are receiving antibiotics and information about the disease and its symptoms.

Meningitis is a viral or bacterial infection of the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and brain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Of the two forms, bacterial meningitis is more severe. If it is not diagnosed early, the infected person can die within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms.

The bacteria live in the nasopharynx and are spread by close personal contact with an ill person that results in the sharing of saliva or nasal secretions.

Health officials said people in close contact who would run a risk of infection include those living in the same household and people who share drinks or eating utensils. Kissing is also a risk.

Casual contact such as being in the same room with an ill individual would not constitute a risk, health officials said.