Meningitis kills another just a few days after the same infection killed Sevin Phillips, 48, and a SoulCycle rider. The new victim was Laura Robson, 53, roughly 18 miles away in Northern California. She unexpectedly passed away at the back of a San Francisco Minibus.
Preliminary autopsy showed that the cause of death was bacterial meningitis. David Robson, the victims brother said that his sister just recently underwent shoulder surgery ar Marin General Hospital, just two miles away from the SoulCycle fitness gym where Philips used to work out. Around 300 people were told shortly to seek medical attention after news of Philip's autopsy report confirmed meningitis infection.
Meningococcal bacteria is the common cause of the disease, and although the risk for an outbreak is low, it usually spreads through casual contact such as when the person talks, laughs, sings, or sneezes. According to the Fox News, the respiratory droplet from the infected person can also stay on surfaces, contaminating others who unfortunately come in contact with it. Meningitis kills 500 people each year and infects 4,100 in the United States according to the CDC.
Due to the close physical proximity that David and Laura shared, doctors have already treated him and his 5-year-old son with a single-dose antibiotic. Meningococcal bacteria causes inflammation which can cause tissue damage, organ failure and death. The disease process usually takes a very short time to cause irreversible damage.
According to the Daily Mail, Dr Matt Willis, public health officer for Marin County, have stated that Philips' death was an 'isolated incident'. SoulCycle staff had reported deep-cleaning all exercise equipments to ensure eradication of infection despite insisting that the victim was not infected during a cycling session. Due to its tricky and highly infectious nature, meningitis kills unexpectedly, public officials have investigated everyone who had come in contact with Philips.
