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After Larimer County health officials announced that Colorado State University sophomore Christina Adame may have died of bacterial meningitis, the local coroner ruled out that possibility. Instead, the cause of 23-year-old Adame’s death, which occurred within hours of the onset of her illness, was due to meningococcal sepsis, reports the Fort Collins Coloradoan, which explains the difference between the two maladies.
Adame, who lived off campus, called her mother Tuesday evening to complain that she was having trouble breathing, writes 9News. Her mother called 911, and emergency crews rushed Adame to the hospital. When her mother arrived at the hospital, she didn’t recognize her daughter, who had turned purple in color before passing away.
Adame was employed at the CSU veterinary hospital, but health officials say animals and their owners are not at risk of the disease, notes the Loveland Reporter-Herald. Another student, 19-year-old Zachary Ratzlaff, a freshman at CSU’s Corbett Hall, has also became severely ill with what officials believe to be meningitis and is hospitalized. No connections have been made between the cases.