Dave Cruz/The Arizona Republic

Dr. Mary Rimsza, ASU director of health.

By Sarah Park
Washington Post
July 20, 2002
 

Five mothers of college-age students who died or suffered complications of bacterial meningitis are urging parents to have their children vaccinated this summer, before their arrival on college campuses.

The rare contagious disease kills five to 15 college students nationally each year, according to the women, who have become known as Moms on Meningitis by the Meningitis Foundation of America.

"Eighteen-year-olds don't want to get shots," said James Turner, executive director of the University of Virginia's department of student health. "They want to see the campus and meet other students. Shots are the last thing on their list of things to do. Parents (can) play a critical role."

However, many parents don't know about the vaccine. MOM member Deb Kepferle said only two members of her group knew about it before their children started college.

Bacterial meningitis leads to inflammation of the membranes lining the skull and spine. It can be transmitted through shared drinks, toothbrushes and cigarettes. The disease affects about 3,000 Americans each year and kills about 10 percent of them.

Kepferle lost her son, Patrick, to meningitis in 2000, when he was a freshman at Towson University in Maryland. Because the early symptoms of the infection may mimic stomach flu or a cold and because the disease progresses rapidly, she says vaccination is a must.

"By the time you see purple or red spots, and know you don't just have the flu, it's too late," she said.

Antibiotics must be administered immediately to prevent death or serious complications, which may include brain damage, kidney failure, loss of limbs and deafness.

The vaccine is 85 percent effective against four of the five strains of the meningococcal bacteria. The Type C strain most commonly affects college students.

Many colleges sponsor meningitis clinics in the fall; shots cost $70 to $80.

At Arizona State University in Tempe, vaccinations are available at the Student Health and Wellness Center.

But ASU advises students to get vaccinated before moving onto campus to avoid the increased risk that dorm living may expose them to, said Dr. Mary Rimsza, the university's director of health.

ASU has had no cases of any of the meningitis strains "for a number of years," she said. "It's not that common, but when it does occur, it has about a 10 percent fatality rate."

Northern Arizona University has no reported cases of meningitis in recent history. The University of Arizona reported two cases of meningococcal meningitis, both non-fatal, in 1995 and 1997. Both of those schools recommend that freshmen living in dormitories consider getting the vaccine. Shots are available on both campuses.

In 1998, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified freshmen living in dorms as having a risk of meningitis six times higher than that of other college students.

Seventeen states, but not Arizona, require undergraduates to get vaccinated or to sign a waiver indicating awareness of the disease and its risks.

At the University of Virginia, which had five meningitis cases during the mid-'90s, persuading students to get vaccinated was easy, Turner said. Last year, about 75 percent of the school's 12,000 undergraduates had been vaccinated.

Republic staff contributed to this story.