FRYEBURG – A Fryeburg Academy student has been hospitalized with meningococcal meningitis after a trip overseas.

“The academy is following the orders of Maine’s affiliate of the federal Centers for Disease Control in all aspects of this case,” Headmaster Daniel Lee Jr. wrote. He said he was not able to provide specific information on the student or the school’s actions due to health confidentiality laws.

Chris Zukas-Lessard, deputy director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the student was one of an estimated 21 students and staff who had traveled to Europe.

Because of the international nature of the diagnosis, the MCDC has been in contact with the federal CDC as well as the health departments associated with the students who made the trip.

The disease infects the spinal fluid and layers surrounding the brain.

Bacterial meningitis is spread through respiratory and throat secretions, and can be treated with antibiotics.

According to the federal CDC’s Web site, students living in dormitories are at a higher risk for contracting meningitis and are advised to take a vaccine against the disease.

Fryeburg Academy, which was founded in 1792, hosts 670 students, 110 of whom are boarded in four dormitories. The school operates as a public school for seven Maine towns as well as Chatham, N.H., and a private school for the boarding students.