Glenelg Grad Dies From Adenovirus

A Glenelg High School grad who was a freshman at the University of Maryland College Park died this week from adenovirus. Five others are sick with the illness, university officials reported.

Olivia Paregol, 18, of Howard County, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Sunday, Nov. 18, University of Maryland student newspaper The Diamondback reported.

Adenoviruses can cause symptoms such as the common cold, but there are some more dangerous strains that can result in serious illness.

Those with compromised immune systems may be more at risk from adenovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Paregol died after she did not respond to antibiotics and contracted pneumonia, her mother told The Diamondback.

"I am sad to share that a University of Maryland student recently passed away from adenovirus associated illness," University Health Center Director David McBride said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 20.

"While we are normally prohibited from sharing medical information publicly, we have been authorized by a family member to share this news and urge others to take seriously this strain of a common virus," McBride wrote.

He said that there was "an isolated case of a student with adenovirus" on Nov. 1, and there have been five more cases of students with the illness since then.

Health center staff "has been on high alert" due to the illness, McBride said; and officials learned on Nov. 19 that one specimen sent to the CDC tested positive for adenovirus 7, which he described as "a strain that may cause more severe illness."

The University of Maryland created an adenovirus FAQ page on its website and reported it was communicating about preventive measures and increasing cleaning of surfaces that people frequently touch around campus.

Paregol's family said that it was concerned the university did not take the situation seriously enough.

According to The Baltimore Sun, her father said the University of Maryland should have notified her if there were reports of adenovirus on campus since she may be susceptible, particularly because the health center dispensed medication to Paregol for Crohn's disease.

When she was diagnosed with pneumonia after visiting the emergency room on Nov. 6, her parents said that they still were unaware of the illness on the university campus.

Her father called the University Health Center on Nov. 12 after his daughter was admitted to the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and it was then that McBride informed the Hopkins doctors of the adenovirus outbreak, The Baltimore Sun reported.

She was tested; the results showed she had adenovirus.

"I think there would have been a different result," father Ian Paregol told The Baltimore Sun, had they been informed sooner.

Here is the time line for the illness leading up to her death, based on reports:

• Oct. 31 — Olivia Paregol felt ill.
• Nov. 1 — University Health Center learned one student had adenovirus.
• Nov. 5 — Paregol went to her primary care doctor.
• Nov. 6 — She was diagnosed with pneumonia at the emergency room.
• Nov. 11 — She was airlifted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Diamondback reported.
• Nov. 12 — She was admitted to the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
• Nov. 18 — Olivia Paregol died from the illness.

Image via Shutterstock.

This article has been updated.