Updated, Dec. 16, 11:50 a.m.

The University announced Friday that a graduate student died from a confirmed a case of meningococcal meningitis.

The infected student lived off campus, according to a University announcement made Thursday.

The University advised about 35 others who have been in close contact with the contagious person to be screened for the disease, the symptoms of which include high fever and headache.

The condition can be treated with antibiotics if identified early, but if left untreated can cause brain damage, blood infection and death.

Meningitis can be transmitted through prolonged close contact, including kissing, coughing and sneezing or being within three feet of an infected person for more than eight hours, Director of Student Health Service Isabel Goldenberg said.

There are about 3,000 cases of meningococcal meningitis in the United States each year. In 18- to 34-year-olds, more than 16 percent of people who become infected die.