A 17-year-old Perry, Ga. high school senior who died Sunday was Georgia's second meningococcal disease death this year.

Public health officials did not identify the girl, who died at Perry Hospital.

Roughly 30 friends and family members who may have been in close contact with her have been given antibiotics as a disease-preventing measure, said Jennifer Jones, spokeswoman for Georgia's North Central Health District.

Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can cause meningitis, pneumonia, blood infections or joint infections.

The disease kills about 150 people in the United States each year. Roughly half die of meningitis, a form of the disease which inflames the tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord. Many of the other deaths are due to blood infections, said Dr. Tom Clark, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lab work has not yet established what kind of meningococcal disease the Perry girl died from, Jones said.

A vaccine against meningococcal disease was licensed in 2005. Health officials did not know if the girl had received a vaccination, but it's not required for entry into Georgia K-12 schools so she may not have, Jones said.

About one confirmed meningococcal disease death is reported in Georgia each year, but this is the second of 2008. An earlier death occurred in February, according to the state Department of Human Resources.