ORLANDO, Fla. -- A University of Central Florida student died last week due to bacterial meningitis, according to health officials.

Rhett Davis, 20, was found dead Thursday, and the Orange County Health Department is conducting an investigation into his death.

Bacterial meningitis is an infection that attacks the spinal cord and brain. It is contagious, but only if someone has close and prolonged contact with an infected person.

The university sent notices to Davis' classmates and others, and several people close to Davis are being tested, although health department officials said there were no other reported cases.

"You'd have to be 6 inches face-to-face, nose-to-nose (to become infected). So close that you'd have to get a direct sneeze in the face for a prolonged period of time. It's not something that's going to lurk in the hallways, it's not on keyboards, it's not going to be in an air-handling system at all," Bill Toth, Orange County Health Department spokesman, said.

The Orange County Health Department credited the university for quickly contacting Davis' friends and classmates, possibly helping prevent the spread of the bacteria, according to a Local 6 News report.

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