The Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices announced Wednesday that teenagers should receive a booster dose of the bacterial meningitis vaccine rather than a single dose.
Officials noted that recent studies have revealed that a single dose is not as effective as previously believed. Consequently, Student Health will begin recommending the booster to University students next year, Director James Turner said. The recommendation will be given only to students who received the meningococcal vaccine in 2005, which will mostly be incoming first-year students.
Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the layers of tissue that encase the brain and the spinal cord. The disease first makes itself apparent by causing an upper respiratory tract infection, then travels through the bloodstream to the brain. Bacterial meningitis is spread through direct contact with fluid from the mouth or throat of an infected person, such as by coughing, sneezing or kissing. Symptoms can develop in a matter of hours to a few days and include high fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, seizures and a rash. Surviving victims may suffer from mental disabilities, hearing loss and paralysis.
High-school and college students are highly encouraged to get vaccinated against meningitis, as the risk of getting the disease increases in crowded areas, such as dormitories. In 2007, an ACIP panel said the vaccine should be given to children ages 11-12 and would be effective for the next 10 years. More recent studies, however, have shown that the meningitis vaccine is only effective for less than five years.
"We hoped the antibody levels in young people that got [the vaccination] would stay rather high for several years," Turner said. "But as it turns out, they've done some additional studies and the antibody levels start dropping in four years after receiving the vaccine."
With the vaccination, experts hope antibody levels will remain high and ward off infection.
"Now we have time to see how well the vaccine is working in the kids who got the vaccine three to five years ago," said Amanda Cohn, an expert with the Centers for Disease Control.\nThe panel debated a second option before making its recommendation, also considering whether doctors should give the single dose to students when they are between 14 and 15 years old. By a vote of 6-5, the majority decided that it would be easier and less confusing to implement the booster shot.
But there have been some doubts as to whether this booster shot is actually necessary because the occurrence of bacterial meningitis in the United States is at a historically low level. A survey of 207 universities and 2 million students found that during the 2008-09 academic year, only 11 cases of bacterial meningitis occurred, leading to three deaths.
"The rates of meningococcal disease are much lower than they were 10 years ago. The general population is not at high risk for this disease," Cohn said.
Nearly 100 percent of people who come in contact with the bacteria do not contract the disease, Turner said, and instead, they became carriers for it. Once they develop antibodies against meningitis, the bacteria go away.
"But the people who do get sick get critically ill," Turner said. "There is a 15 percent mortality rate for young adults. Even though it's a rare disease, it's extremely serious."
During the last 10 years, there have been two cases of meningitis at the University, but both students had underlying risk factors, Turner said.
In September 2006, fourth-year College student Jennifer Leigh Wells, who lived off Grounds with her family, contracted bacterial meningitis and died shortly after being taken to the University Hospital. Three years later, in March 2009, another fourth-year student was taken to the hospital for meningitis but was treated in time with antibiotics.
The University became one of the first schools to start vaccinating against meningitis during the 1990s, and it was not until 2001 that the vaccines were required for undergraduate students. Although students can sign a waiver to avoid vaccination, 95 percent of University undergraduate students and 77 percent of the entire student body are vaccinated, Turner said.
Turner said he believes the vaccination is worthwhile to provide maximum protection to University students. "It's to prevent future cases. We don't want to wait for more cases to appear before we start giving the booster," he said.
Cohn said the booster will cost about the same as the vaccine Menactra, which costs about $90.
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