Concerned About Exposure?

Here's what you need to know if you are concerned about a possible exposure to someone who has been diagnosed with meningococcal disease:

• The Tompkins County Health Department works closely with the patient (when possible), friends, and family members to identify everyone who may have had very close contact with the patient.
• "Very close contact" means sharing the same drinking utensil (cup, glass, can, or jug), eating from the same piece of  pizza or other foods, sharing the same eating utensil, sharing the same cigarette, sharing the same chapstick or lipstick, and kissing.
• Close contacts should be evaluated by a health care professional and treated as soon as possible with preventive or "prophylactic" antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin ("cipro). This is given in one dose.
• Even those close contacts who have had the meningococcal vaccine should take the preventive antibiotic. The vaccine provides an important measure of protection, but is effective against only four of the five subtypes of meningococcal disease. (The vaccine preventable subtypes account for 70 to 80% of the cases in the college age population.)
• People who have been in the same room but have not had this kind of contact with the patient would not be considered to be at elevated risk and would not need preventive antibiotic. 
• People who have had "second hand contact" (i.e., have been in close contact with someone who has been in close contact with the patient) also are not considered to be at elevated risk.

If you have any questions about your exposure risk or symptoms, or would like to discuss your concerns with a health care provider, please call us (24/7 at 255-5155). We are eager to help.

Consider these resources:

• Gannett 24/7 phone consultation 
• Gannett hours 
• Cayuga Medical Center Convenient Care Center and Emergency Department

Considering vaccination?

The American College Health Association (ACHA) recommends all first-year students living in residence halls receive the meningococcal vaccine. The ACHA recommendations further state that other college students under 25 years of age may choose to receive meningococcal vaccination to reduce their risk for the disease.

Though the two cases at Cornell in March, 2008 were caused by a strain of the bacteria (Type B) which is not included in the current vaccine, this is still a good time to consider getting the vaccine (or getting re-vaccinated if your last meningococcal vaccine was more than five years ago).

Effectiveness of vaccine

Currently two different kinds of vaccines are available for use in the U.S. to protect against meningococcal disease: Menomune and Menactra. Each contains antigens to four of the five serogroups: A, C, Y, and W-135. Neither vaccine provides protection against serogroup B. Menactra is effective against the other serogroups in more than 97% of recipients.). The vaccine-preventable subtypes account for about 70–80% of cases among in the college-age population.

Vaccine available at Gannett

Menactra is the vaccine currently available at Gannett. Call 255-5155 to ask for more information about the vaccine or its cost ($105 as of 3/08) or to set up an appointment. (It's quick and easy.)

Because this vaccine is a "preventive" treatment, most health insurance plans, including the Student Health Insurance Plan, will not pay for it.

Possible side effects of the vaccine

As with most vaccinations, the more commonly-reported side effects are by far less worrisome than the illness against which they protect. Side-effects related to meningitis vaccination may include mild-to-moderate local reactions at the injection site and, infrequently, minor systemic symptoms (i.e., headache, fatigue, low-grade fever, joint pain, rash) that subside in 1-2 days.

More serious side-effects (e.g., allergic reactions like hives, wheezing, swelling of the face and mouth) are rare. An anecdotal association has been made between the meningitis vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome (which affects a person’s peripheral nervous system), but both the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider the evidence—an incidence of 1-2 cases per 100,000—insufficient to established a causal connection.

You should not receive the vaccine if: 

• You are pregnant or suspect that you might be pregnant.
• You are allergic to thimerosal, a substance found in several vaccines.
• You have an acute illness, with fever (101 degrees F or higher).