Meningococcal Disease has apparently claimed the life of a soldier at Fort McCoy . The bacterial infection appears to have been the cause of death for the soldier, from a Virginia unit training at the fort. State epidemiologist Jim Kazmierczack with the state Division of Public Health, who says Meningococcal Disease can sometimes progress quite rapidly, leaving a victim dead the same day symptoms develop. The soldier died en route to a Rochester, Minnesota hospital for treatment. Twenty seven other soldiers from the same unit were treated as a precautionary measure: they were not showing symptoms. Kazmierczack says his agency and the Monroe County Department of Public Health are working with officials at Fort McCoy to investigate the soldier's death.
