Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, addresses a news conference concerning a student from Acadia University who has been diagnosed with meningitis, in Halifax on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015. Strang said the province will begin a targeted vaccination program if it is the same B strain that was contracted by another female student who later died this month.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
Health officials in Nova Scotia are trying to identify the strain of bacterial meningitis contracted by a second student at Acadia University, raising concerns that the school could be dealing with an outbreak of the illness.
Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, is awaiting results from a national lab that's testing a sample from the student who is recovering in hospital.
The young woman is a first-year business student and member of the school's female rugby team.
Strang says all students at the university will be immunized if it is the same B strain that was contracted by another female student who died this month just a day after exhibiting symptoms.
Officials would begin vaccinating students next week if it's the same strain.
There have been four cases of meningitis in the province this year, including a male student at St. Francis Xavier University who recovered.
There were two cases last year, with the last fatality being reported in 2002.