By
Mindy Jones
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Media scare targets dorm students
UA Campus Health Service is taking a pro-active approach to reducing the risk of meningitis for the class of 2004.
Last fall, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that college health care providers supply freshmen with information on meningitis, a disease that infects the outer surfaces of the brain.
Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that students living in highly populated complexes, such as dormitories, are at a slightly higher risk for the disease than other people between the ages of 18 and 23.
Dr. Harry McDermott, assistant director for clinical services, said that the University of Arizona Campus Health Service complied with this recommendation by distributing fliers to incoming freshmen.
"We sent out packets to freshmen over the summer but later realized we had only reached about half of them," McDermott said. "We decided to put out more fliers in the mailboxes of all the student dormitories in October."
McDermott also extended the information to the presidents of UA's fraternities and sororities.
"We realized that the students living in greek houses were at the same type of risk as the students in dorms," McDermott said. "We asked the presidents, and will soon be asking the greek advisers, to tell their members about the information in the flier."
The handouts listed statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control regarding meningococcal meningitis as well as information pertaining to the vaccine and its availability at the UA.
Ashley Cunningham, an undeclared freshman and Kaibab-Huachuca resident, said that she received the notice in her mailbox earlier this week and would definitely make an appointment to get the vaccine.
"This wasn't the first time that I had heard about the disease," Cunningham said. "I heard about the scare on the news and in the papers."
McDermott noted that it is important to keep the issue as well as its media coverage in proper perspective.
"We received many calls from parents last year after '20/20' aired an episode on the disease," McDermott said. "But, honestly, if it was a bigger deal, the national organizations would make the immunization mandatory, not an option."
Still, employees at Campus Health are encouraging students to take advantage of the vaccine's campus availability.
Jolie Schaeffler, an immunization nurse at Campus Health, offers students the option of an oral antibiotic after the vaccine is given.
"The antibiotic helps the immune system of students who have been exposed to other people with the bacteria," Schaeffler said. "You only have to swallow one pill, and we hope it will be another effective form of prevention."
The disease is spread through coughing, sneezing and kissing, and, if left untreated, can plague the student with flu-like symptoms, she said.
Despite the dangerous side effects of the disease and the information provided by Campus Health on the vaccine, not all students are convinced that they need the shot.
Joshua Garbarsky, undeclared freshman and Coronado resident, has no plans to get the vaccine.
"I am afraid of needles, and I am not afraid of getting the disease," Garbarsky said. "I realize there was a scare about it, and there is a shot to prevent it, but I am not going to pay the money for it."
The shot will cost students without health insurance $82, as compared to the flu vaccine which is given free of charge by many local doctors.
McDermott said that he wasn't aware that the cost had been any deterrent to the students.
"We haven't gotten any calls from parents or students regarding the vaccine this year," McDermott said. "However, that fact could also be attributed to a luncheon we held over the summer in which this issue was discussed with parents of incoming freshmen."
Students are encouraged to talk to their parents and doctors about the vaccine before making an appointment, Schaeffler said.
"The vaccine is a good idea for students who are away from home and are experiencing many changes in their lives," she said. "They may not be eating as well, sleeping as much, and as a result their immune systems won't be as strong and they will be more susceptible to the bacteria."
