Freshman still in critical condition

IU officials are breathing a sigh of relief this week as the likelihood of another case of meningitis surfacing dwindles as the days pass, said Dr. Hugh Jessop, director of the IU Health Center.\n"If you're going to have a second case, that incubation period is usually 10 days," Jessop said. "We are really going to keep our fingers crossed that we get through the week without another case."\nIU issued a public health alert more than a week ago after freshman Ashley Lee was hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis -- the bacterial form of the disease -- at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. \nFreshman Lindsey Roscoe, Lee's cousin, said Lee is still in critical condition and her well-being is a "major concern" for her family. \nJessop said just under 200 doses of Cipro have been given out to students to prevent further spread of the disease. Cipro is "an antibiotic used to decrease the chance of serious infection in persons carrying these bacteria," according to an IU statement. \nLee's roommate, freshman Libby Spencer, said she did not know Lee before they were paired up as roommates, but became good friends with her. \n"It's hard because everyone knows about this situation, but not as many people know Ashley," Spencer said in an e-mail. "Our floor misses Ashley lots and hope for the best for her. This whole situation really comes as a shock to a lot of us, and we all want her to come back as soon as she can."\nLee and Spencer live in Briscoe Quad.\nIndiana State University also issued a public health alert because Lee had attended a fraternity party there Sept. 21. Dave Taylor, director of media relations at ISU, said about 250 doses of Cipro were given out to its students, and no other cases of the disease have been reported there.\nMeningococcal bacteria usually cannot live for more than a few minutes outside the body, according to the IU Health Center's Web site. The bacteria is usually not transmitted by routine contact in classrooms where an infected individual has been, and instead is transmitted through the direct exchange of respiratory and throat secretions, such as coughing, kissing and sharing unwashed eating utensils.