Freshman Kathryn Malone is now in stable condition at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center after being hospitalized Tuesday morning with spinal meningitis.
DHMC Administrative Coordinator Ken McDaniels said Malone is "significantly improved."
"She's been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit to a regular hospital bed," McDaniels said.
Malone is the second Dartmouth student in less than a month to contract spinal meningitis, a potentially fatal disease caused by the meningococcus bacteria. Meningitis is an inflammation of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
Slade Ellis '98 was in critical condition in DHMC three weeks ago with spinal meningitis. He is back in his room after a one-week stay in DHMC and Dick's House, and previously told The Dartmouth that he felt completely better.
The meningococcus bacteria travels through air and is highly contagious. But in order for the disease to be transmitted, a carrier has to be in close contact with others for an extended period of time.
One week before Ellis's case, an unidentified freshman woman suffered from a blood infection of the bacteria, but did not develop spinal meningitis.
Ellis and the unidentified freshman woman both had the B-strain subtype of meningitis, and Malone probably has that subtype as well, Turco said Tuesday.
No vaccine is available for the B-strain subtype, but in an interview with The Dartmouth earlier this week Turco said, "once it's diagnosed it's very treatable."
According to Turco, the B-strain subtype of the bacteria is the most common in the United States.
Turco said students should seek medical attention if they suffer from any of the symptoms of spinal meningitis, which include disorientation, nausea, headaches and high fever.
In a letter to the Dartmouth community dated Feb. 1, Director of College Health Services Dr. Jack Turco wrote that another student was identified as a "carrier" of the bacteria at the end of January and was treated with antibiotics.
A statement said health authorities warned that the College should expect more cases because students are at a greater risk of contracting meningitis during the winter.
