Meningitis takes toll on college campuses

Meningitis has yet again taken its toll on a college campus -- and, as a result, Student Health officials hope to increase student awareness of the disease. Villanova University sophomore Joseph Hauck died August 27 of bacterial meningitis. The tragedy follows numerous cases -- both fatal and non-fatal -- which struck college campuses nationwide earlier this year. Although the University has not seen a meningitis case since the late 1980s, Student Health Director MarJeanne Collins noted that the recent increase in meningitis cases on campuses could affect the University community. "It's occurring in communities where young adults cluster," she said. "There's no question that it is an issue of increasing public health concern." Although early detection of the disease is important, Collins added that students may find it difficult to differentiate between meningitis and the flu. Meningitis, like the flu, causes severe headaches, nausea and fever. "You need a high index of suspicion," Collins said, adding that the disease can sometimes begin and advance rapidly and without warning. "Awareness is number one," she added. "Fear does not help." To alleviate student and parental concern, Student Health has developed a brochure that discusses meningitis and the various options students have. It is available to all students and was mailed to parents of this year's freshman class, Collins said. Despite the fact that college campuses may be prone to meningitis because of the close proximity in which people live, Collins noted that most cases occur individually without affecting anyone else. But some outbreaks have occurred, involving more than one case in a short period of time. The University of Illinois, University of Indiana and University of Connecticut -- along with several Canadian institutions -- have had outbreaks in recent years, Collins said. She said 21 outbreaks have occurred since 1981 -- seven of them taking place in the last three years. According to health care providers, college students suffer from the meningococcal bacterial form of meningitis. Bacterial meningitis has a pneumococcal strain and meningitis also exists in a viral form, but both do not generally affect young adults, Collins said. A vaccine does exist for two of the four types of meningococcal bacterial meningitis, Collins said. But public health officials do not recommend the immunization for most healthy young adults. According to Collins, the vaccination lasts for only three years and cannot prevent the more common types of the disease.