A new bill recently passed that requires Indiana high school students to receive a vaccine that protects them from Meningitis B. Medical experts are advising that college students receive the vaccine as well.
One in 10 adults are carriers of the bacteria, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but people who are most at risk are those living in close quarters, including college campuses and dorms, or those who share items such as ChapStick, eating utensils and beverages because of the spread of saliva.
Meningitis B can cause fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting — all symptoms that mimic the flu, which can make it hard to diagnose. However, the disease can have worse effects.
Karla F. Loken, a doctor of osteopathic medicine from Indiana University Health, lost her sister to Meningitis B 29 years ago.
“She was a healthy junior in high school at 16 years old,” Loken said. “She was shopping for a tennis skirt one day and gone the next.”
Since then, Loken has been an active advocate in Meningitis B prevention.
Loken said there have been outbreaks at eight major U.S. colleges in the past year. She said the outbreaks are random so you can’t quantify the risks of outbreak, but everyone is at risk of obtaining the disease.
The prevention vaccine is available through two different vendors. The cost is covered by most healthcare plans for people ages 18 to 25.
Loken said all college students should receive the vaccine because they are most likely to contract the disease.
“Previously there was nothing but reducing risk behaviors that could protect you, but now with Meningitis B vaccines we can prevent the illness,” Loken said. “Meningitis doesn’t discriminate on who its victims are, it is just like a tornado and causes death and devastation.”
Loken said there have been at least four cases of Meningitis B in the last year in Indiana. All of the victims were teenagers.
“I would like to never hear the stories of how a loved one was fine one day and gone the next,” Loken said. “I would love for this disease to be gone. Meningitis B is one nasty bacteria, but now we have hope.”