The American Academy of pediatrics believe it is important for all college-bound students to know about a serious illness called meningococcal disease. Certain college students have a higher risk of getting this disease, and it can be deadly.
WHAT is meningococcal disease?
Meningococcal disease is caused by bacteria. Many people carry meningococcal bacteria in their throats but never get the disease. However, in a few people it can lead to 2 common forms of the disease: meningococcal and meningitis. Meningococcal disease can effect the blood (meningococcemia) and/or brain and spinal cord (meningitis) and is life threatening unless diagnosed and treated early.
Each year in the United States about 3,000 people get meningococcal disease. While it can strike anybody, college students living in dorms are at higher risk than other people of the same age. It is easy for infections to spread in crowded dorms where students live in close contact with each other.
The symptoms of meningococcal disease often are mistaken for other less serious illnesses like the flu.
Common symptoms include:
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High fever (over 101.4 ˚F)
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A flat, pink to red rash mainly on the lower arms and legs, including the hands and feet with small bruises or bleeding under the skin
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Nausea
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Vomiting
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Generalized aching or weakness
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Sudden, severe headache
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Confusion
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Sensitivity to light
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Stiff neck in combination with headache and sensitivity to light (may signal the meningitis form of the illness and should never be ignored)
It is important to seek medical treatment immediately. Meningococcal or meningitis can get worse very quickly, even within a few hours from the start of symptoms. If untreated, the disease can be fatal or cause kidney failure, hearing loss, limb amputation, or lifelong problems with the nervous system.
TREATMENT
There are antibiotics that are used to treat meningococcal disease. When given shortly after the onset of symptoms, these antibiotics may prevent the disease from getting worse. Because the infection spreads to others very easily, anyone in close contact with a person with meningococcal disease should consult their physician and also be given an antibiotic to help prevent meningococcal disease.
Excerpts from American Academy of Pediatrics
Carol Keith R.N.
Patty Canright R.N. | 
