Five years ago James C. Turner watched five University students fight for their lives after contracting bacterial meningitis.
"I was in intensive care with the patients," Turner said. "I lived and breathed human tragedy."
Since then he has worked tirelessly alongside other University staff to prevent another outbreak of the devastating disease. They are encouraging students to reduce their risk of contracting meningitis by receiving a vaccination against the disease today in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom.
"This is the only bacterial infection that I know of that can almost kill a normal healthy 18 to 20-year-old in a few hours," said James C. Turner, Student Health director and chairman of the Vaccine-Preventable Disease Task Force for the American College Health Association.
Meningitis is a rare disease, but it strikes college students, particularly those living in dormitories, at a higher rate than the general population. It is also extremely dangerous; 10 to 15 percent of people who contract the infection die as a result.
Bacterial meningitis is transmitted in bodily fluids; an infected person can spread the disease by coughing, sneezing, kissing or sharing cups or cigarettes. Early symptoms include high fever, headache and stiff neck and are sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, confusion, sleepiness and discomfort looking into bright lights.
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Following a recommendation finalized in June by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the University is sponsoring an immunization clinic today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Newcomb Hall Ballroom, in addition to providing all students with information about meningitis.
Although the vaccine reduces the risk of contracting an infection, it is only 67 percent effective because it protects against only three of the four most common types of meningitis.
Dr. Turner was a member of the CDC group that made the new recommendations. Previously, the vaccine was only administered "reactively after a cluster of [meningitis] cases," Turner said. The new guidelines suggest that colleges give all incoming students information about the benefits of the vaccination, and that health centers should either administer the vaccine or direct the student to a site where the vaccination is available.
University Student Health was one of the first student health centers in the nation to offer the vaccine as a preventative measure.
"It's exciting," Turner said. "Something started here at U.Va. and then we got a national policy going." In 1998, before the CDC released the new meningitis policy, only 10,000 to 15,000 people were immunized, compared to about 340,000 in 1999.
In addition, family physicians are beginning to realize the threat and administer vaccinations before students ever arrive on campus.
VaccessHealth, a company that sets up vaccination clinics at over 200 colleges around the country, is running a clinic at the University today. They are bringing in 55 nurses and 41 clerks to administer the shots, Nursing Supervisor Sandi Murray said. "We're hoping that the waiting times are greatly reduced from last year," she said.
Although the government recommends that students be informed, it does not mandate meningitis vaccinations. According to a formula established by the federal government, the cost of treating the disease is less than the cost of vaccinating all college students, and therefore the government will not sponsor the shot. However, the cost-benefit formula only considers a week-long hospital stay and doesn't take into account treatment of complications, such as kidney failure or brain damage, Turner said. "I don't believe the formula is accurate," he added.
Right now, "it's a personal choice" whether to pay for the shot that parents and students have to make, Turner said. More and more insurance companies are picking up the cost, including QualChoice, the health insurance plan endorsed by the University. "And 70 bucks in the context of a college education really isn't that much," he added. "Although the risk is relatively low, when it strikes it is deadly."
Murray best summed up the sentiment of University health officials. "The effect of this disease is just devastating," she said. "If I had my own child here I would certainly guarantee that they were there [at Newcomb] getting this shot"
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