Freshmen at Risk for Disease

Staff Writer

Health officials are urging freshman living in residence halls to receive the bacterial meningitis vaccine after a study found they are at a high risk of contracting the disease.

The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concluded that college freshmen living in residence halls have a higher risk of contracting bacterial meningitis than freshman who live elsewhere, said Dr. Michael Bruce, lead author of the report.

Viral meningitis is a relatively common but rarely serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain, according to the CDC Web page.

Bacterial meningitis causes symptoms such as fever, headache and stiff neck and can become fatal within 24 hours. Bruce said the disease has a 10 to 15 percent fatality rate.

"(Students) should know that this is out there," Bruce said.

But he added that the main risk factor found by the study is living in a residence hall.

"Overall, college students did not have a higher risk of meningococcal disease compared to other people of the age."

Dr. Kelly McKee, head of General Communicable Disease Control in the N.C. Division of Public Health, said the close living conditions of residence halls naturally promote diseases such as meningitis.

"Freshmen who live in dormitories are at a slightly increased risk over other college students," McKee said. "The chances for a person-to-person spread just rises."

In 1999, 49 cases of meningitis were reported in North Carolina, and 39 followed in 2000.

McKee said the decline between years was not a trend and that statistics change from year to year, with no real pattern for support.

Menomune, a commercially available vaccine, can guard against the four most common strains of meningitis, McKee said.

But he added that the vaccine does not totally protect people from the disease.

"Even if you are vaccinated, you are not 100 percent covered on all strains, but most of them," McKee said.

While cases appear fairly constant throughout the year, he said numbers usually increase during the winter months, when more people remain indoors and are more susceptible to the disease.

But Bruce said conjugate vaccines, which have a longer immunological memory than current drugs, will be available within two to three years.

And he added that immunizations are easily accessible for students at colleges and universities.

Carol Kozel, UNC Student Health Service nursing director, said no cases of meningitis were reported on campus during the last five years.

Kozel said SHS will sponsor a campuswide vaccination drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 10 in the Great Hall.

She said the event exists to "provide better protection for our students regarding meningitis."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.