Only about 70 percent of first-year residential students at Ohio University received the meningitis vaccine this year after a February outbreak of bacterial meningitis prompted university officials to make the vaccine mandatory for new students.
The university is legally obligated to allow students to opt out of getting the Menactra vaccine - which protects against four of the five common strains of meningitis - and 1,158 students took advantage of that option, according to statistics Residential Housing released Wednesday. About 65 percent of returning students have had the vaccination.
I had hoped that more students would get the vaccination ... (but) we'll continue to educate folks and support healthy decision making
said Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi.
Although the vaccine does not protect against the Type B strain of the disease, which has infected seven OU students during the past two years, Lombardi said that it is an added precaution students should take.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited campus in March to conduct an investigation of the outbreak. Although the center did not pinpoint any specific cause of the outbreak, representatives told OU that students should refrain from high-risk behavior which includes smoking, drinking, not getting enough sleep, sharing drinking glasses and having multiple sexual partners. Meningitis is spread through bodily fluids.
The CDC might make another trip to Athens as early as this winter to conduct a study on how many OU students carry the bacteria, Lombardi said. The center would test a sample population of students, on a voluntary basis, and compare the statistics with national averages. A person can be a carrier of bacterial meningitis without falling ill.
I don't think they have any suspicions one way or the other they're just looking to get some baselines
Lombardi said. (The percentage of carriers) might be higher on college campuses and in places where there's a lot of people in confined spaces.
Although the CDC has yet to finish its official report about the investigation, the representatives who conducted the study already made recommendations to OU.
This report is more of a report for the record that has to be completed and so sometimes when there are more pressing issues that come up
it can take longer
said Tom Skinner, press officer for the CDC. Our observations and recommendations that needed to be implemented to address the situation at hand were made prior to our leaving.
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Pamela Engel
