New York Post

Meningitis death has SF SoulCycler­s sweating

- Sophia Rosenbaum

A healthy 48-year-old California father died unexpected­ly after contractin­g bacterial meningitis — and now his death is sparking an outbreak scare in his SoulCycle community.

Sevin Philips, a family psychother­apist, died Jan. 7 following a short battle with meningococ­cal menin- gitis, a rare but serious infection that is contagious.

His death prompted San Francisco health officials to contact more than 300 fitness buffs who used to sweat it out with Philips at a popular SoulCycle gym in Larkspur, according to NBC News Bay Area. So far, none has reported any symptoms.

Meningitis can be spread from person to person through sweat, saliva or lengthy contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Philips contracted the deadly infection between Dec. 31 and Jan. 7, though he did not catch it at the gym.

“While the rider did not contract the infection at our studio, we have nonetheles­s been in constant communicat­ion with the Department of Health, which has emphasized that there is no evidence of any health risk to our riders,” the facility said in a statement to NBC, adding the studio was disinfecte­d after news of Philips’ death.

But while riders are taking extra precaution­s, his untimely passing is not going to stop them from working out at the gym.

“I’m not worried at all going forward at our studio,” Tracy McCulloch told the site. “I don’t think there’s any connection whatsoever.”

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