Meningitis B is a swift-killing illness, was the strain behind all college meningococcal disease outbreaks over the past eight years.

Sarah Mbaeyi, a pediatrician who studies meningococcal disease for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “There are about 20 cases of meningitis B among college students annually (134 total cases in 2017). About 12 percent of meningitis B cases result in death, and another 10 to 20 percent result in significant long-term conditions, such as loss of limbs or hearing or cognitive deficits. “

Henry Bernstein, a pediatrician at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York and former member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases states, “While it is not recommended universally for everyone, we as pediatricians should be bringing it up with all young adults and their families. The parties would then decide together whether it was appropriate to get the vaccine.”

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