{"id":99838,"date":"2025-08-14T13:19:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=99838"},"modified":"2025-08-14T13:20:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T11:20:35","slug":"stellenbosch-students-sudden-death-sparks-awareness-of-meningococcal-meningitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/stellenbosch-students-sudden-death-sparks-awareness-of-meningococcal-meningitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Stellenbosch student\u2019s sudden death sparks awareness of Meningococcal Meningitis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Azra Hoosen |\u00a0ah@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n14 August 2025 | 13:15 CAT
\n3 min read<\/p>\n

It was a Saturday like any other at Stellenbosch University, until tragedy struck. Nineteen-year-old theology student, Chris Scheffer, was found dead in his residence room. The cause: meningococcal meningitis, a rare but devastating bacterial infection that can claim a life within hours.<\/p>\n

His passing has left the campus community grieving, while raising urgent questions about how the disease spreads, how to spot it early and what is being done to protect students.<\/p>\n

Dr Craig Thompson, head of Stellenbosch University\u2019s Campus Health Services, said the Department of Health confirmed the case after Scheffer\u2019s death. \u201cWe were informed late on Monday evening that the cause in this particular case was most probably meningococcal meningitis. Once informed, we then had to put in place all the procedures as determined by the Department of Health nationally and locally,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Campus Health did not see Scheffer before his death. \u201cHe was obviously sick and didn\u2019t seek help at Campus Health. From reports, he didn\u2019t seek help anywhere else\u2026 and then when he wasn\u2019t around for a while, people went to look for him,\u201d Dr Thompson said.<\/p>\n

Understanding the disease<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meningitis refers to inflammation of the meninges, the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal meningitis is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis<\/em>, which can also cause other serious conditions. \u201cUp to 5 – 10 % of us can carry this type of bacterium in the back of our throats without causing any problems,\u201d said Dr Thompson.<\/p>\n

It is unpredictable who will fall ill. \u201cIt\u2019s a complex kind of interaction between the host and their current immunity, the organism, and the environment. From morning to evening, you can see two very different cases, and by the next day, if you don\u2019t seek help, you could be in some medical trouble,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Risk factors include close living arrangements, such as in university residences, and exposure to tobacco smoke. While cases can occur year-round, they tend to peak in early winter.<\/p>\n

Preventing further spread<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once a case is confirmed or suspected, Campus Health works with the Department of Health to trace close contacts, those who share a room, bathroom or dining facilities with the patient. \u201cYou would focus on the people who are in his immediate area within about the preceding week,\u201d Dr Thompson explained.<\/p>\n

These close contacts are offered chemoprophylaxis, preventive antibiotics. \u201cThankfully, we can use a preventative type measure in the short term to try and prevent others from getting acute disease. Those close contacts only. Nobody else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Vaccines against meningococcal meningitis exist but are not included in South Africa\u2019s public immunisation schedule. Dr Thompson said this is partly due to the varying strains in circulation. \u201cThere are various serotypes; only a few will cause severe disease. In the Western Cape, strain B has been most prevalent. The current vaccine Menactra covers A, C, Y, and W, so if your circulating strains don\u2019t have any of those, it\u2019s not going to be that effective in that area,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Vaccination remains a personal choice. \u201cI have two children who have gone through the university and I\u2019ve chosen personally to vaccinate them,\u201d he said, adding that while it can give peace of mind, it comes at a cost.<\/p>\n

No outbreak, but vigilance needed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dr Thompson stressed that this was an isolated case. \u201cIt\u2019s not an outbreak. We dealt with the close contacts as best we could, and there have been no secondary cases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Basic hygiene practices, including handwashing, mask use when sick and sanitising, remain key in reducing the spread. \u201cVery basic health measures can prevent a lot of these things,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n

Since COVID-19, meningococcal disease rates in South Africa are rising again, but remain low. In Dr Thompson\u2019s 16 years at Stellenbosch, this is the third case involving a student.<\/p>\n

While the loss of Scheffer is deeply felt, Dr Thompson wants students to remember that the vast majority of health issues on campus are mild and manageable. \u201cAll we want is for students to be academically successful, but also successful in that transition from teenage years into adult years. A lot of the lessons they pick up at university, they\u2019ll carry into their future careers and lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

LISTEN<\/strong> to the full interview with Muallimah Annisa Essack and Dr Craig Thompson, head of Stellenbosch University\u2019s Campus Health Services, here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Azra Hoosen |\u00a0ah@radioislam.co.za 14 August 2025 | 13:15 CAT 3 min read It was a Saturday like any other at Stellenbosch University, until tragedy struck. Nineteen-year-old theology student, Chris Scheffer, was found dead in his residence room. The cause: meningococcal meningitis, a rare but devastating bacterial infection that can claim a life within hours. His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":99839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/The-Insight-5.png?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pYi","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 22:04:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}