Officials Want More Meningitis Education

A group of state representatives and public health officials are hoping to educate Massachusetts families about the effects of meningitis.

The group, chaired by State Senator John A. Hart (D), met Monday afternoon for the first time along with the families of several meningitis victims and one survivor.

They said they hope to draft legislation requiring that Massachusetts parents be educated about the disease before their children start their first year of college.

“[I’m] being pro-active in trying to help some of these kids who may come into contact with this virus, and to prevent some family from losing, what is in most cases, a healthy child,” Hart said.

The legislation is inspired by Nick Springer, a teenage neighbor of Hart in Cape Cod who lost both his arms and legs because of the disease. Springer was present at Monday’s meeting.

“Our intent is to educate and give people an idea of the seriousness of this, and give them the ability to make the decision of whether or not to inoculate,” Hart said.

Meningitis, which is spread through the sharing of saliva, affects about one person out of 100,000 each year. The incidence is much higher during infancy and during the first year of college due to the close living quarters of dormitories. About five in 100,000 first-year students are infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease can result in neurological disorders, amputation and—in about 10 percent of the cases—death.

The legislation would not attempt to make the meningococcal vaccine mandatory before college entrance. Instead, it would try to ensure that parents receive information about the disease and sign a waiver confirming they’ve received the information before sending their children to college.

These measures come after a national trend toward increased vaccination. Fourteen states have already implemented laws requiring meningococcal education.

Harvard has long encouraged incoming students to receive vaccinations.

“We are already educating everybody,” said David S. Rosenthal ’59, Director of Harvard University Health Services. “Most colleges are already doing it.”

Incoming first-years receive informational packets in the mail which strongly recommend the vaccine. Harvard also offers the vaccinations.

The vaccine cannot protect against all strains of the disease. About one-third of all cases cannot be prevented.

“The vaccine we typically use protects against four strains...the problem is, the major strain in the U.S. is strain B,” said Mark S. Pasternack, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and chief of the pediatric infectious disease unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital, referring to the major strain the vaccine does not protect against.

The type B strain accounts for approximately one-quarter to one-third of the cases.

But he added that the vaccine is a valuable preventative step with little risk.

Opponents of widespread vaccination say it is not cost-effective given the small number of people who are actually affected. Hart challenged that assertion at yesterday’s meeting, held in the Senate reading room, saying that getting vaccinated costs around $60-70—a cost most HMOs would cover.

Pasternack also defended the cost analysis, saying that the costs of vaccination are nominal compared to the cost of treating an infected patient, which could cost as much as $40,000.

The legislation needs to be drafted by Dec. 4 in order for it to be considered in the next year.