The Oregon Public Health officials confirmed on May 29, 2015, Friday, that a new case of meningococcal disease was discovered. The newly diagnosed patient is the father of a student at the University of Oregon (UO), who visited the campus from May 2-3, 2015. The man is the first non-student patient, who contracted the disease following the Meningitis outbreak that happened at UO in January.
UO immediately acted on the situation by ensuring that the close contacts and family members of the man were administered preventive antibiotic medications immediately, the health officials said. Public health agencies in Oregon and across the country are collaborating with the university officials for further investigation.
Meningococcal disease is a fatal bacterial infection of the blood that can be transmitted from person-to-person. Earlier this year, 18-year-old Lauren Jones of the university's acrobatic team died of the disease in Feb. 17, 2015. All the other students who were diagnosed that time completely recovered.
The university conducted a massive clinic at Matthew Knight Arena at the beginning of May and another clinic is set to be held when classes start in fall. As per statistics, more than 10,000 students from UO were administered with their first shot of meningitis B vaccine but 12,000 more are yet to be immunised.
Future cases of meningococcal diseases are highly possible, says Jason Davis, spokesman for Lane County Public Health. He added that other universities such as Ohio University and Princeton University were affected by strain B outbreaks in the past. Experts say that the latest case of meningococcal disease in the university is an evidence that the disease remains and thus students should be immunised immediately.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC does not currently recommend the vaccination of meningococcal disease strain B for all young individuals. On June 24, 2015, the federal Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and CDC are set to have a meeting to tackle the possibility of prescribing the vaccination of all young people against the fatal disease strain. Jen McCulley, UO spokesperson said that the university officials will be awaiting for the recommendation of the CDC. "We're in favor of anything that's going to keep our students safe," she said.
Photo: 305 Seahill | Flickr
