Meningitis not found in dead N.C. Central student

Health officials still on alert as autopsy done

DURHAM -- Tests performed on an N.C. Central University student who died unexpectedly this week were negative for meningitis, and the cause of his death was still not known Wednesday, health officials said.

Canon Tyrell Fuller, an NCCU senior from Lincolnton, died Monday night while working at a group home. A day later, the university said concerns had surfaced about whether Fuller had contracted meningitis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

A positive meningitis test can launch a frantic scramble by public health experts to track down the victim's contacts. Still, state health workers were on alert as Fuller's body underwent an autopsy in Chapel Hill. Some people close to Fuller have been given antibiotics, state officials said.

The first cultures were negative for meningitis, said George Ghneim, with the N.C. Division of Public Health. "It leans ... toward not being meningitis, but we can't rule it out," he said.

In a news release, NCCU's student health office said Fuller was not known to be sick. He was a resident assistant at Campus Crossing, an off-campus housing facility two miles from campus.

NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms, in a statement Wednesday night, elaborated, saying only those who had "close contacts" with Fuller should seek antibiotics. " 'Close contacts' are defined as those who have had intimate sexual contact, kissing, sharing beverages from the same container or who shared cigarettes with Mr. Fuller over the last seven days," the statement said.

The Durham Health Department didn't recommend antibiotics for those in class with Fuller or living in his building.

It wasn't clear Wednesday why meningitis was suspected in Fuller's death. Carol Schriber, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Health and Human Services, said doctors who examined Fuller on Monday night did not see any clinical evidence of meningitis but would not rule it out until tests were done.

Meningitis would be suspected in a college-age student who gets very sick, very fast, said Mary Covington, assistant vice chancellor for campus health services at UNC-Chapel Hill.

At Campus Crossing on Wednesday, several students said they hadn't heard much about Fuller's death, didn't know him and weren't too concerned.

"I had all my shots and vaccinations," said Randy Smith, a senior from Florida. "I thought everyone had theirs to get into school."

Following federal guidelines, the UNC system recommends but does not require students to get a meningitis vaccine, which covers four types of the disease and usually costs about $100.

Fuller was remembered Wednesday as a funny, driven student who wanted to teach social studies. History professor Ranaldo Lawson, Fuller's academic adviser for the past two years, described a mature student with presence and leadership skills. Sometimes, he'd drop into Lawson's office just to talk about NCCU's football team.

"He stopped by almost every day before class just to see how I was doing," Lawson said.