Tragically, a college student from Ohio, whose home is just a town away from mine, died last week of bacterial meningitis. The loss of an adolescent to disease is heartbreaking, especially when there is a safe and effective vaccine against meningitis. I still remember medical school lectures where professors warned us that bacterial meningitis can kill a person in hours. They showed us slides (there were no power point then) of the characteristic skin rash of meningitis, and warned us never to forget it. I have not done it
Although the CDC recommends meningitis vaccination for college students living in dormitories, Ohio does not require it. In fact, in Ohio only 38% of adolescents have received the meningitis vaccine, below the national average. Health experts strongly recommend that all college freshmen get vaccinated before coming to school. An Ohio bill was introduced to force college students to get vaccinated against meningitis, but has not advanced in the legislature. Most states, in fact, do not require meningitis vaccination for college students. We don’t need a law to be able to do the right thing.
Vaccines are one of the greatest triumphs of modern medicine. They prevent terrible diseases with very little risk and expense. Meningitis is a threat both here and abroad. International travelers to the ‘meningitis belt’ in Africa, for example, should discuss this vaccine with their travel doctor.
If you are traveling abroad, meet with a travel doctor weeks before departure. In addition to necessary travel vaccinations, you’ll receive important travel safety tips.
Of course, there is no law that requires international travelers, or any of us, to receive the meningitis or other important travel vaccinations. There must be?