The University of Colorado at Boulder will make the meningitis vaccine Menomune available to students for $72 on Dec. 7, 8 and 9 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Wardenburg Health Center.
The vaccination program follows a university campaign to inform all students, especially its 4,566 freshmen and their parents, about meningococcal disease, which causes a potentially deadly form of meningitis. While still rare, with only 3,000 cases in the United States each year, meningococcal disease infections among 15- to 24-year-olds have doubled since 1991, and recent studies showed freshmen living in residence hall environments appear to be at a slightly higher risk.
In October, on the heels of two federal studies, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel, recommended that freshman students and their parents receive information about the benefits of administering a preventive vaccine for meningococcal disease.
CU-Boulder officials have since e-mailed a message to all students explaining the recommendation and encouraging them to talk to their parents about the vaccine. Informational posters also have been placed in residence halls and information about meningitis has been posted on the Wardenburg Health Center聮s web page.
"It聮s a personal decision on the part of the students as to whether they should get vaccinated," said Barbara Brandt, the infection control manager at Wardenburg. "But it聮s our job to make sure they have information about meningitis to help them make that decision." Brandt also noted that $72 is the actual cost of the vaccine and does not include the cost of administering it.
There are five strains of meningococcal disease 聴 A, B, C, Y and W-135 聴 two of which are responsible for 70 percent of cases among college students and are effectively prevented with the vaccine. The current vaccine is between 85 percent to 100 percent effective in preventing meningococcal disease, but offers no protection from strain B, which accounts for about 30 percent of cases.
The type of meningitis caused by meningococcal disease is a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection that inflames the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It peaks in late winter and early spring.
Symptoms of meningococcal disease are high fever, headache, neck stiffness, confusion, nausea, vomiting, lethargy and rash. If not treated the disease sometimes progresses rapidly and may lead to shock and death.
91制片厂 10 percent of the 3,000 people who contract meningococcal disease each year die from the illness, which can also lead to permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, amputation or kidney failure.
In fall 2000, incoming freshmen at CU-Boulder will be notified about the federal recommendation and the availability of a vaccine as part of university materials sent to prospective students and students who have been accepted.
Other undergraduates under 25 years old who wish to reduce their risk can also choose to be vaccinated. The vaccination will be available after Dec. 9, but students will then be subject to an administration fee.
For more information about meningococcal disease visit Wardenburg聮s Web site at .
For answers to frequently asked questions, call (303) 492-8741.