Meningitis
Meningitis
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The seven bacterial meningitis cases at Ohio University the past two years have been declared an outbreak by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Columbus Dispatch reported March 7.
Recent CDC testing indicates that all the cases were caused by the same strain of meningitis, strain B, said Ryan Lombardi, dean of students. That's why the CDC changed its classification of the cases from a cluster to an outbreak, Lombardi said March 6.
The meningitis vaccination does not provide protection from that strain, he said.
Still, beginning this fall, all freshmen will be required to have the vaccination. The university also may require current students to be vaccinated, Lombardi said. He said 68 percent of OU students already have had the vaccination.
Lombardi told students in an e-mail March 6 that the university is working with the CDC to determine why so many OU students have contracted meningitis. Three have been diagnosed this academic year. One, an 18-year-old died Feb. 17 after being hospitalized for a day. Four students were diagnosed last year.
Bacterial meningitis can spread through contact with an infected person's saliva or through prolonged contact. The illness infects the linings of the brain and spinal cord and can progress quickly. Symptoms include a severe headache, stiff neck, disorientation, lethargy, nausea and vomiting.
While there is still no vaccine available for strain B, two vaccine candidates are in clinical trials.