Every Incoming College Freshman Should and Must Be Educated On and Vaccinated For Bacterial Meningitis

Every Incoming College Freshman Should and Must Be Educated On and Vaccinated For Bacterial Meningitis

Imagine a college student rising out of bed one Saturday morning suffering from what seems to be a headache. Unconcerned, this student begins the day as any other, hoping a few aspirin will soon alleviate the unbearable pain. By the next day, it becomes obvious that the intense throbbing is stubbornly refusing to subside. Finally taking a friend's advice this student sees a doctor hoping that it is nothing too serious. Within a few days hospital physicians insist this student have loved ones come right away because the condition is becoming more critical by the hour. This college student has bacterial meningitis, also called meningococcal meningitis, a disease that every incoming college freshman should and must be educated on and vaccinated for.

It is important to know the, who, what, where, and how of bacterial meningitis.

Group of Woodbine Agricultural School students, Wo...

English: Entrance to the headquarters of the Cente...

Auburn University students at ASAP conference

A review of some of the comments of renowned doctors and professionals in the field will assist in understanding the scope of the disease. Reports of students infected on college campuses will show how necessary a mandated vaccination is. What college officials and state legislators are doing to combat this deadly disease is the topic at hand.

While bacterial meningitis is rare, it can sicken and kill with terrifying swiftness. According to Lifespan about 3,000 Americans each year contract meningococcal meningitis, 10 to 13 percent of those who develop an infection will die from the disease, and of the survivors, another 10 percent will suffer long-term disabilities which may include amputated limbs, hearing loss, or brain damage (http://www.lifespan.org). The Center for Disease Control has discovered that college freshman, living in dorms, not just students that age, but those in the crowded housing has 6 times the risk of the...