University Of Wisconsin Meningitis Cases Highlight Need For "B" Strain Vaccinations

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. - Oct. 31, 2016 - PRLog -- Three recently diagnosed cases of meningococcal disease on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison highlight the need for all college aged students to be required to receive vaccinations against all strains of the potentially deadly disease.

There are five strains or serogroups of meningococcal disease and until 2014 vaccines were only available to combat four of those five strains.  Two new vaccines for the fifth or "B" strain are approved by the FDA for use in protecting against serogroup B meningococcal disease, but many students and their parents still remain unaware of the need for the separate vaccine.

All three of the Wisconsin cases have been confirmed to be the "B" strain of the disease.

MenB accounts for nearly 50% of meningitis cases diagnosed in people between the ages 17-23, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The  National Meningococcal Disease Awareness Survey released earlier this year revealed that 83% of parents surveyed were not aware of the difference between MenB and other groups of the disease. Additionally, nearly 4 out of 5 parents didn't know their child wasn't fully protected against meningococcal disease without the additional vaccine.


Patti Wukovits, R.N., Executive Director of the Kimberly Coffey Foundation, is urging all parents to seek out the vaccine to better protect their kids. Wukovits lost her 17-year-old daughter Kimberly to Meningitis B in 2012, before there were any vaccines available to protect against MenB.  Kimberly had received the other available vaccinations.

"I lost Kim to MenB because there was no way to prevent it at the time," said Wukovits.  "My dear friend, Meredith Leigh lost her son Henry-also at UW-Madison to the disease in 2013---also before the "B" vaccine was available.  We were powerless to stop this disease—but now parents need to know to protect their kids.  I am glad to see the University taking steps to vaccinate the campus population, but we need to do more before there is another unnecessary death.  We need to make the MenB vaccines a requirement---not a reaction when we see an outbreak."

MenB has been responsible for outbreaks on college campuses across the country in recent years, including Rutgers University, Providence College, Yale, Princeton University and the University of Oregon, where one student died from the disease.

For more information on the Kimberly Coffey Foundation and MenB go to: www.KimberlyCoffeyFoundation.org.

For more information on the National Meningicoccal Disease Awareness Survey go to: http://www.kimberlycoffeyfoundation.org/education