The meningitis vaccine is now believed to provide protection for a maximum of five years, according to federal vaccine advisers. The vaccine was previously thought to provide protection for 10 years.

Meningitis vaccines are required before most freshmen enter college because the disease is highly contagious in close quarters like dorms and can cause long-term health problems.

Federal vaccine advisers debated recommending when the first and second doses should be administered. The group voted Wednesday to recommend 16-year-olds to receive a meningitis booster, which would protect students through early college years when outbreaks are most likely, according to a Wednesday article in The New York Times. The vaccine is usually given to children between the ages of 11 and 12.

James Turner, a member of the committee and former president of the American College Health Association, said the committee made the official recommendation, but that does not mean it is legally binding.

‘What the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends never becomes law or a requirement,’ he said.

Meningitis is defined as an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord and is categorized by symptoms like a high fever, constant headache and stiffness of the neck.

Though it’s a rare disease, the fatality rate for those who contract it is 15 percent. In addition, 20 percent of people who became infected with the virus ended up with severe disabilities, such as hearing loss.

‘Contracting meningitis causes your body to go into shock, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, such as the brain and kidneys,’ Turner said. These health problems can result in the amputation of fingers, hands, feet and legs or the need for a kidney transplant, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people to continue to vaccinate until a disease is eliminated, according to the CDC website. The CDC recommends the booster for susceptible teens and young adults to acquire the same successful results.

Vaccines are the best way to prevent the spread of diseases, according to the CDC, but basic knowledge about the symptoms and outcomes could be helpful in the prevention process as well.

Meningitis vaccinations started in 1982 when the Haemophilus Influenzae Type b Vaccine was given to infants and children under 5 years old, eventually eliminating the Hib disease, Turner said. Hib was one strain of the meningitis virus.

Turner said students should be mindful of certain behaviors that could put them at risk for contracting meningitis.

‘Students should be reminded that random kissing and the sharing of drinking glasses and smoking materials spread bacteria, which can also lead to the spread of meningitis,’ Turner said.

Students are not required to receive a meningitis vaccine prior to coming to campus, but they are required to complete a form on whether or not they have received the vaccine, according to Syracuse University Health Services.

If a student decides later on that he or she would like to receive the vaccine while on campus, Health Services offers the meningococcal vaccine.

Freshman pre-law major Sydney Powell said she thought students should be vaccinated for any potentially fatal or communicable disease.

Said Powell: ‘I care that people aren’t vaccinated and living around me because they might get me sick since I’m part of the most at-risk age range.’

acptachi@syr.edu

 

Published on November 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm