Although it has not been reported at Iowa State, cases of meningoccocal meningitis have found their way to college campuses around the nation recently and have raised awareness to the potentially life-threatening infection.

By often mistaking the symptoms of meningitis for the flu, students put themselves at risk because the bacterial infection is allowed time to spread throughout the body.

“You could say meningitis starts off the same way with mild flu symptoms, but usually it’s more rapid,” said Dr. Malhar Gor‚, staff physician at the Student Health Center. “[Meningitis] will linger for a week with just mild flu symptoms and then suddenly get worse.”

Like influenza, meningitis can start off with such symptoms as a sore throat, headaches and drowsiness.

Then the infection rapidly progresses producing high fevers, severe headaches and stiffness in the neck, Gor‚ said.

According to the American College Health Association’s [ACHA] Web site, an estimated 100 to 125 cases of meningoccocal meningitis occur annually on college campuses, and five to 15 of those cases are fatal.

Neisseria meningitidis, the bacterium that causes meningoccocal meningitis, affects the central nervous system by causing inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord called the meninges, said Hank Harris, professor of microbiology.

“Well, between the bone and soft brain tissue, you can guess the direction the swelling will travel,” Harris said. This is what causes the severe headaches and neck stiffness.

The bacteria can be carried in respiratory secretions and can be spread by coughing, sneezing and direct contact such as kissing.

College students living in close proximity, for example a residence hall, are exposed to a lifestyle where this bacteria can spread very quickly, said Randy Mayer, research and evaluation coordinator at the Student Heath Center.

“Anything that brings people closer together in enclosed areas may spread the infection,” Gor‚ said.

Mayer also said other factors, such as smoking, bar patronage and alcohol consumption, can increase the risk of contracting the illness.

Untreated cases of meningoccocal meningitis have mortality rates near 100 percent.

Last year, the ACHA released a statement urging universities to take a proactive role in providing information and access to a meningoccocal vaccine, Mayer said.

As recently as late October, the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP] modified its guidelines for the vaccine and recommended that information be given to freshmen residence hall students and other undergraduate students.

Since then, ISU has added information about meningoccocal meningitis to incoming orientation programs for students and their parents, Mayer said.

The vaccine, although not 100 percent effective, protects against four of the five strains of neisseria meningitidis and lasts about four to five years.

According to ACIP, it is effective against the strains that caused 70 percent of the cases among college students last year.

The easiest way to avoid meningitis, though, is simply living a clean lifestyle, Gor‚ said.

“Hygiene is the key thing. Of course, appropriate food and diet and avoiding alcohol [are important],” he said. “Most important is to watch the progression of an illness.”

The meningoccocal vaccine is available at the Student Health Center and costs $73.