Meningococcal Disease
California Department of Public Health’s Immunization Recommendations and Screening Requirements for California Colleges & Universities:
- Meningococcal Conjugate (Serogroups A, C, W, and Y, MenACWY) - First-year college students who live in residential housing are recommended to receive MenACWY if they did not receive a dose on or after their 16th birthday.
- Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (MenB) [optional] - First-year college students who live in residential housing are recommended to receive MenB if they did not receive a dose on or after their 16th birthday. College students are at increased risk, especially those who are freshmen, attend a four-year university, live in on-campus housing, or participate in sororities and fraternities. Students of any age determined to be at-risk in an institutional outbreak attributable to a meningococcal vaccine serogroup are also recommended to get vaccinated.
- Check with your doctor or health plan about vaccine availability and coverage.
The two most common types of meningococcal infections are meningitis and bloodstream infections.
- With meningococcal meningitis, the bacteria infect the lining of the brain and spinal cord and cause swelling.
- With a meningococcal bloodstream infection, the bacteria enter the blood and damage the walls of the blood vessels. This causes bleeding in the skin and organs.
According to the CDC, Meningococcal disease can cause meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) and infections of the blood. Even when it is treated, meningococcal disease kills 10 to 15 infected people out of 100. And of those who survive, about 10 to 20 out of every 100 will suffer disabilities such as hearing loss, brain damage, kidney damage, loss of limbs, nervous system problems, or severe scars from skin grafts.
Meningococcal disease is rare and has declined in the United States since the 1990s. However, it is a severe disease with a significant risk of death or lasting disabilities in people who get it.
Anyone can get meningococcal disease. Certain people are at increased risk, including:
- Infants younger than one year old
- Adolescents and young adults 16 through 23 years old
- People with certain medical conditions that affect the immune system
- Microbiologists who routinely work with isolates of N. meningitidis, the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease
- People at risk because of an outbreak in their community
Meningococcal Disease Vaccine
According to the CDC, Meningococcal ACWY vaccine can help protect against meningococcal disease caused by serogroups A, C, W, and Y. A different meningococcal vaccine is available that can help protect against serogroup B.
General Information
For more information, please review the following Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) sites: