WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. (AP) - Purdue canceled its trip to a tournament in Mexico on Wednesday after its second-leading scorer was hospitalized in critical condition with meningitis.
The school said junior Drey Mingo was in stable condition Tuesday.
Athletic director Morgan Burke said no one else with the team has been ill and that all have received antibiotic treatments. The school said state and county health departments have been notified _ along with Purdue’s last two opponents, DePaul and South Dakota State _ and coach Sharon Versyp and team physician Alayne Sundstrom would discuss the case later Wednesday.
Purdue was scheduled to play Montana on Thursday and Florida Golf Coast on Friday in the Caribbean Challenge at Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The team had arrived in Indianapolis for its flight when the decision was made to cancel the trip.
Mingo is an Atlanta native who was averaging 17.3 points 7.3 rebounds in the Boilermakers’ four games this season.
“Those who may have been close to the ill student have been contacted so they also can receive information about the illness, educate them about the symptoms to watch for and provide a prophylactic antibiotic,” Sundstrom said in a statement released by the athletic department. “That group includes Purdue’s two most-recent opponents.”
The Boilermakers played DePaul on Sunday and South Dakota State last Thursday.
The disease can be transmitted by recurrent exposure to saliva or coughing or other direct contact, but it is not highly communicable.
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