CDC recommends college students get meningitis warning

October 21, 1999
Web posted at: 9:26 a.m. EDT (1326 GMT)

In this story: Students in dorms seen to be at greater risk Feels like the flu RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN Medical Correspondent Rhonda Rowland

ATLANTA (CNN) -- College students should be told about the dangers of bacterial meningitis and have easy access to a vaccine for the disease, a government advisory panel said Wednesday.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization stopped short of recommending the vaccine be required. The panel decided it's not cost-effective to require the $60 shot for meningitis, still considered a rare disease. Also, the vaccine doesn't always work.

"Our data indicate college students and their parents should be educated about the signs and symptoms of the disease and to seek medical attention immediately if these symptoms are experienced, and that there is an effective vaccine available," said Dr. Nancy Rosenstein of the CDC.

Physicians generally follow CDC guidance in treating their patients.

Students who live in dorms rather than off-campus are more likely to get the illness

In 1996, there were more than 600 cases of bacterial meningitis on college campuses in the United States. In June, the CDC reported that the risk of college freshmen living in dormitories of contracting bacterial meningitis was more than six times greater than other students'.

The American College Health Association recommends all college students consider getting the meningitis vaccine. The vaccine is 85 percent effective against four strains of bacterial meningitis, which account for about 70 percent of cases in college students.

Meningitis is a potentially deadly inflammation of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid surrounding the brain. It's sometimes referred to as spinal meningitis.

The disease usually is caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Viral meningitis usually is less severe, but bacterial meningitis can be fatal.

The American College Health Association recommends all college students consider being vaccinated.

At first, meningitis may feel like the flu. Symptoms include headache, high fever, stiff neck and nausea. The symptoms can come on quickly and up to 10 percent of patients die within days of developing the disease. Survivors may have organ or brain damage and lose limbs.

College meningitis outbreaks usually occur in late winter or early spring, when school is in session.

"There's been about a 50 percent increase (in cases of college meningitis) since the early 1990s," said Dr. James Turner of the American College Health Association. "We're not exactly sure why it's increasing."

Studies suggest college lifestyle factors such as crowded living conditions, stress, smoking and binge drinking may put students at greater risk of getting meningitis.

It can be spread through kissing, sneezing and sharing kitchen utensils.