DAVENPORT, IOWA (July 2, 2019) — St Ambrose University is one of nearly 30 universities across the country that require that incoming students are vaccinated against meningitis B. Several colleges just made the meningitis B vaccination mandatory for the first time this year.
This news comes on the heels of the recently completed 2018-2019 school year, which saw 11 confirmed cases of meningitis B at universities across the country, one which tragically claimed the life of a Florida Community College student. Even more alarming, meningitis B has been responsible for 100 percent of all meningococcal outbreaks on college campuses in the U.S. since 2011.
Students have long received the meningococcal conjugate-vaccination, which covers strains A, C, W, and Y, but this ultimately leaves them unprotected from the B strain of meningitis. For years, parents have thought their child was safe from the threat of meningitis, but without receiving both the MenACWY and the MenB vaccine — which has only been available in the United States since 2014 — they’re still vulnerable to meningitis B.
Research shows that universities can be breeding grounds for infectious diseases, including meningitis B. The typical environment that comes with co-ed life — living in close-quarters, sharing drinks and utensils, kissing, coughing — are just a few ways meningitis B can be spread, placing university students at a heightened risk for contracting the debilitating and sometimes fatal illness.
While meningococcal diseases are still considered rare, infection can be devastating. One out of every 10 people who get infected will die. Of those who survive, 1 out of every 5 people will suffer loss of limbs and/or other serious complications.
“We have an opportunity at the university level to ensure the best health of our students while they are on our campus and under our care,” said Maria Fletcher MD, Physician Health Services at Butler University. “To see the needless suffering around the country with the measles resurgence, and knowing we now have protection for meningitis B when we didn’t before, we wanted to do all we could to protect our students from this rare but often fatal and debilitating disease. No university wants to host the next outbreak — especially when it could have been prevented.”
Colleges who now require the meningitis B vaccine for all incoming students:
- Aquinas College
- Ball State University
- Bucknell University
- Butler University
- California University of Pennsylvania
- Daemen College
- Earlham College
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Indiana State University
- Indiana University Purdue University
- Lehigh University
- Morrisville State College
- New England College
- Oregon State University
- Manhattan College
- Marian University
- Purdue University
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- San Diego State University
- Smith College
- St Ambrose University
- St Mary of the Woods College
- University of Evansville
- University of Indianapolis
- University of Rio Grande
- Valparaiso University
For more information, visit https://www.bewareofb.com/.
