Each year, doctors diagnose one in 100,000 people in the United States with meningitis. Recently, the United States Centers for Disease Control(CDC) has witnessed meningococcal infections on the rise, and death rates caused by meningitis appear higher than ever before. Affecting middle-aged people also makes this deadly strike unusual because meningitis mainly affects infants and elderly people.
Meningitis refers to an infection that causes inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Several causes of meningitis include viral bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. Those suffering from meningitis may endure stiffness of the neck, headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, and muscle or joint pain. In the early stages of the infection, rashes may appear around all parts of the body. The disease can also spread to numerous people through cough, close contact or saliva.
“I’ve always heard about the prevalence of meningitis which made me not hesitate to get the shot. I heard about people dying from meningitis and even though it’s not extremely common, I still don’t want to risk contracting the disease. I would tell people to take the right precautions and educate others on the serious symptoms and life-long side effects of meningitis,” NC senior Imani Wilson said.
The CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory March 28, 2024, after the Virginia Department of Health recognized five unusual deaths caused by meningococcal disease in September. While meningococcal disease and meningitis typically remain independent from each other, they do commonly coexist. The CDC found that in 2023, 422 people contracted meningococcal disease through meningococcal bacteria—B, C, W and Y. The majority of these cases came from the ST-1466 strain. The CDC has also found that since the new year started, 143 cases of meningitis have appeared and will likely continue to appear. The CDC reports that those contracting the meningococcal disease mainly identify as Black or people dealing with Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV).
To keep these contraction rates low, the CDC recommends people to maintain healthy habits, social distancing and keep up with vaccines. Meningitis vaccines such as Meningococcal conjugate(MenACWY ), Serogroup B meningococcal(MenB) and Pentavalent meningococcal(MenABCWY) help prevent meningococcal disease. The CDC recommends that 11 to 12-year-olds receive a MenACWY vaccine with a booster at 16, teens and young adults receive a MenB vaccine and those receiving MenACWY and MenB vaccines may instead receive a MenABCWY vaccine.
“I’m glad that North Cobb requires people to get vaccinated in order for them to attend school for the safety of everyone. I’m sure nobody likes shots but it is definitely necessary as people can easily get other people sick; 400 cases of meningitis sound like a lot, but I feel like if we push people of all ages to get vaccinated for meningitis, the amount of cases can possibly decrease” Wilson said.
