Meningitis threatens college students

For many high-school graduates, the first year of college is an exciting year. Students look forward to creating a new life for themselves away from home. However, for some individuals, this experience is not so picture perfect. For Brock Manuel, a sophomore at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, his college days ended all too soon after he died from bacterial meningitis, a disease which threatens students at many college campuses throughout the country.

According to Dr. Robin Madden, a pediatrician at Discovery Pediatrics, meningitis is the swelling of the meninges, the covering of the brain and spinal cord. There are two types of meningitis: bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis. According to Madden, the bacterial form is the most severe.

Some of the symptoms of meningitis include horrible headaches, vomiting, high fever and a stiff neck. Madden also says that people who contract meningitis will get sick quickly because of the disease's rapid onset. Some people may first complain of cold or flu-like symptoms before the symptoms become more serious.

Meningitis is transmitted through saliva and/or respiratory droplets. Therefore, "anyone who lives in close quarters and breathes on each other everyday" is susceptible to meningitis, according to Madden. This includes students living in dorms, people in the military and kids who go to summer camp. Some risky behaviors that may lead to meningitis include breathing on each other, kissing, sharing food and drinks and being in close proximity with someone, according to Madden.

According to www.edbriefs.com, meningitis strikes about 3,000 people nationwide per year and kills 15 percent of its victims. Between 150 and 200 college students catch the disease each year. In more serious cases, those who survive can suffer from brain damage and amputations. According to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), one in 12 people who contract meningitis suffer from permanent disabilities.

The chances of survival from meningitis are much greater when it is diagnosed early. Some people recover in several weeks while others take several months, says the BBC. There are antibiotics available to cure the bacterial form of meningitis. Unfortunately, there are no medications available for viral meningitis, and patients with this form of meningitis must wait until the virus runs its course.

Silver Spring resident Cathy Louviere, aunt to Manuel and a registered nurse, thinks it is important for students to be informed about meningitis. She believes that they should talk to their physicians and read up on meningitis for themselves. "They could be infecting people and not even know,” says Louviere. "They could be carriers and not even know.”

According to The Kaufman Independent School District, those who are carriers of meningitis have the germs in their nose and throat. However, most of the time, they do not become infected because the bacteria cannot overcome the body's immune system. It is possible for people to carry the meningitis germs for days, weeks or months at a time.

Both Louviere and Madden are advocates of the vaccine for meningitis. The most common form of the vaccine available to adolescents and college-bound teens is for meningococcal, the bacteria that causes the bacterial form of the disease. According to Madden, getting the vaccine is one of the best preventative measures against meningitis.