A Northern Arizona University student died on Monday afternoon after battling a rare type of meningitis, family members say that it started with sore throat.

An environmental science sophomore Lianne Dennstedt, 19 years old, from California, had been undergoing treatment at Flagstaff Medical Centre for than more than 2 weeks.

Meningitis is a severe bacterial infection that occurs in the bloodstream or in the brain; symptoms may not be very recognizable and can be easily confused with influenza symptoms.

Her family said that Lianne started to feel sick from Aug 26 but they thought that it would pass. Meanwhile, the infection that started in her throat went on to infect her blood and brain, eventually causing pneumonia and other complications.

Anyone who came in contact with Lianne need not worry about infection, according to NAU health officials; the university has been spreading the word about the risks to the students, particularly those living in on-campus housing, to get immunized.

Young people living in close quarters are most susceptible to meningitis.

A crowd-funding page has been setup for the family at YouCaring.com. Her grandfather, Stephen Dennstedt, had been writing about her illness on his personal blog. On Tuesday, he published a post announcing her death, along with a family statement.

Dennstedt is survived by her parents, Brenda and Shawn, and her sister, Jaimee.

Lianne's family requests their privacy is respected as they cope with their loss," Stephen Dennstedt said on his blog.

By A.s