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On-campus meningitis vaccinations more than double, UA nurse says

More than twice as many UA students are getting vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis than last semester, a Campus Health nurse said yesterday.

Immunization nurse Jolie Schaeffler said the increase of vaccinations for the potentially deadly infection which college students are considered highly susceptible to is related to a recent report on national TV.

ABC's 20/20, a prime-time news magazine, raised interest about the affliction after a story aired on a show earlier this month.

Patricia Konarski, a University of Arizona molecular and cellular biology sophomore, said she wants a vaccination after hearing about the infection on the show.

"Its a small price to pay for something that could keep you in health in this disease," Konarski said.

Schaeffler said about 100 vaccination appointments have been scheduled between Sept. 20 and Oct. 6 for meningitis, which is spread by respiratory secretions.

Shaeffler said she usually administers about 45 shots per year, with most of them given to students traveling to central Africa and Saudi Arabia where the disease is prominent.

Kris Kreutz, Campus Health Service assistant director, said the infection has raised enough of a stir that UA might mandate that incoming, non-international students be immunized for meningitis.

That decision depends on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation about the infection that should be available sometime next month, Kreutz said.

Schaeffler said she received about 25-30 calls from concerned parents in the first few days after the show aired.

"Ever since the 20/20 episode, the parents have been calling," Schaeffler said.

Schaeffler said UA students who live in residence halls or sorority and fraternity houses are more susceptible to the infection than other students because of their close living arrangements.

"People in the same household or day-care center, or anyone with direct contact with a patient's oral secretions ... would be considered at increased risk of acquiring the infection," states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.

Schaeffler said she encourages students to boost their immune system by eating properly, resting and practicing good hygiene.

The vaccinations cost $81.45 at the Campus Health Center, located at the northwest corner of North Cherry Ave. and the UA Mall. Following a seven-to-10-day incubation period, the shots provide protection for a three-year period.

One potential problem with the health center vaccine, as well as most others routinely used in the United States, is it only works for two of the three meningitis strains found in the country.

According to a bulletin from the health center, the vaccine protects people against types C and Y, but not B, which accounted for 30 percent of all cases in 1997 and 32 percent of cases in 15-24 year-olds.

Kreutz said UA students shouldn't be scared after seeing the 20/20 program - considering only two students have been infected with meningitis in the past five years. In both cases - 1995 and 1997 - the students recovered completely, Schaeffler said.

Biology freshman Courtney Young said he isn't worried about contracting the disease, even though he lives in a dorm.

"From what I heard, they're (students) making a big deal of it," Young said. "Plus, seeing it on TV is hyping them up too."

But Amanda Hensal, a business freshman, said the 20/20 report informed her of the seriousness of meningitis.

"It was kind of shocking because you never hear about it," Hensal said. "If a case broke out here or anywhere close, I think it would scare me enough after seeing the report to go get a vaccine."

Kreutz said other universities' health centers that he communicates with are also discussing meningococcal meningitis and the 20/20 report.

"Its been one of the things buzzing along there," he said.