Students at some U.S. universities will soon have one more requirement to fulfill before enrollment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that university health officials inform students of the disease meningitis and its vaccine. Some schools, including some private and all of the Connecticut public schools are taking it a step further, an SMU Memorial Health Center nurse says. They are beginning to require students have the meningitis vaccination before enrolling.
According to the CDC, meningitis is defined as an inflammation of the meninges, the tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord. Thus, many different organisms can cause it: viruses, parasites, fungi, and bacteria. The viral and bacterial forms are the most common. Antibiotics are ineffective on the viral form and the body must fight it off naturally. The bacterial form, while treatable, is much more deadly and usually requires a hospital stay.
Most college campuses have increased their awareness about meningitis in the last few years. This is because first-year students who live in dormitories are six times more likely to catch the disease than their fellow students, according to the American College Health Association.
Nurse Cheryl Black of the SMU Health Center says this is because first-year students do not take care of themselves like they should when they get to college.
“It’s a package deal,” Black said. “Students who live in the dorms are usually first and second-years. They don’t sleep as well, they might have given up exercise programs they had in high school and they have increased stress. These and other factors like drinking and smoking make the immune system take a hit.”
Black stresses that it is still very difficult to catch the disease. She says that there must be direct oral contact – kissing, drinking from the same spot on a cup or possibly sharing a pillow.
“Viral meningitis is not as bad as bacterial in terms of mortality,” Black said, “but you can still feel like you got hit by a Mack truck.”
Kristin Henderson, an SMU senior, agrees. She had viral meningitis two years ago and at first thought that it was just a cold. Two days later, she thought that she had the flu.
“I woke up on the third day and couldn’t move,” Henderson said. “I could lift my head, but my entire body was in pain. All of my joints were swollen and I literally could not sit up.”
Henderson’s boyfriend carried her to the health center, where doctors realized they were not dealing with a case of the flu and recommended she see her family physician. She took ibuprofen for pain and decongestants for flu symptoms, but little else could be done but wait. She waited for three weeks. By then, Henderson had missed most of the end of the semester.
“It was like having the worst case of the flu ever,” Henderson said.
The effects of meningitis can be devastating, but the bacterial form is preventable to a certain degree. A vaccine is available at the health center for $75. It is 80 percent effective and the side effects are limited and include soreness and swelling at the injection site. The health center will be holding a vaccine clinic Sept. 25 and 26, where shots will be administered all day. Director of Health Services Patrick Hite recommends getting the vaccine if at all concerned about catching the disease.
“Seventy-five dollars is minor compared to what it would take to recover from a case of meningitis,” Hite said.
