MENINGITIS WARNINGS URGED FOR CAMPUSES; COLLEGE STUDENTS AT MODERATE RISK.Byline: Staff and Wire Reports A group of federal health officials is recommending that colleges make meningitis vaccines readily available and that they warn students of the risks of the disease. But in Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. panel on Wednesday stopped short of recommending that all college students be vaccinated. The advisory committee didn't go further in its recommendations because current meningitis vaccines are no more than 90 percent effective and don't work on all strains, said Dr. Nancy Rosenstein of the CDC's meningitis branch. ``College freshmen have proven statistically to be at a moderately higher risk for meningococcal diseases and are a prime group for intervention,'' Rosenstein said. The ambivalence was reflected in the differing opinions of student health directors at universities around the Valley. Beverly Kemmerling, director of health and counseling services at California Lutheran University Mission statement The University's mission statement is as follows: "California Lutheran University is a diverse, scholarly community dedicated to excellence in the liberal arts and professional studies. in Thousand Oaks said despite a vaccination cost ranging around $65, she would recommend that college students get them. ''If I had a student in college, I'd say take it. It's not going to hurt you,`` she said. But Dr. Deborah Ishida, supervising physician supervising physician Medical practice A licensed physician in good standing who, pursuant to state regulations, engages in direct supervision of physician assistants whose duties are encompassed by the supervising physician's scope of practice at Cal State University, Northridge's Department of Student Health, thinks the vaccinations give a false sense of security. The vaccine does not treat all strains of meningococcus meningococcus Neisseria meningitidis, the bacterium that causes meningococcal meningitis in humans, the only natural hosts in which it causes disease. Meningococci are spherical, frequently occur in pairs, and are strongly gram-negative (see gram stain). , lasts only three years and those immunized can still be carriers, she said. ''If your child is the one that dies from it, to you, it's heinous that no one suggested it, but you've got to look at the big picture,`` Ishida said. Neither health official could remember any meningitis cases reported in recent memory on their campuses. A CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation study of 83 reported meningitis cases in college students from September 1998 through May 1999 indicated a rate of 1.4 cases per 100,000 freshmen, and 3.8 cases per 100,000 freshmen living in dormitories. The rate for all 18- to 22-year-olds was 1 case per 100,000. According to the American College Health Association, between 100 and 125 college students get meningitis each year, and between five and 10 die. Meningococcal meningitis meningococcal meningitis n. An acute infectious disease affecting children and young adults characterized by inflammation of the meninges of the brain and spinal cord, headache, vomiting, convulsions, stiff neck, light sensitivity, and purpuric is an infection of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord that is fatal in about 10 percent of cases. It can be spread through contact such as kissing, sharing kitchen utensils and sneezing To verbally tell somebody about a new and interesting Web site. See viral marketing. . Symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting Nausea and Vomiting Definition Nausea is the sensation of being about to vomit. Vomiting, or emesis, is the expelling of undigested food through the mouth. , neck stiffness and skin rash. |
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