Meningitis death prompts concern

After the recent death of a USC student from meningitis last
weekend, health officials at UCLA are now recommending that
students take a serious look into getting vaccinated for the
disease.

“It is recommended that individuals consider getting that
vaccine,” said Evi Desser, a registered nurse in Primary Care
at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.

She added that it is especially important for first- and
second-year students living in the residential halls to get
vaccinated.

Jered Connon, a first-year, on-campus student at USC, died of
bacterial meningitis and septicemia ““ or poisoning of the
blood ““ according to doctors at Mission Hills Hospital in Los
Angeles, where Connon was pronounced dead.

Since the death of Connon, the rate of USC students getting the
vaccine has increased, according to USC’s University Park
Health Center.

There has not been an increasing demand for the Meningococcal
vaccine at UCLA, but a couple of students have inquired about
vaccinations at the Ashe Center, Desser said.

Students living in the close-quarter living environment of the
dorms have a higher risk of catching meningitis ““ an
infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings that can also
cause blood infections ““ which can cause serious and
sometimes fatal results.

“Those students have a doubled risk of acquiring bacterial
Meningitis, as compared with the general population,” Desser
said.

Typical symptoms of meningitis include high fever, nausea,
vomiting, severe headache, stiff neck, sore throat and a
purple-like rash.

Desser said the most preventive measure against getting
meningitis is by getting the vaccine.

“The vaccines are made from inactivated materials which
cannot cause disease,” says Desser.

But some doctors disagree on whether the Meningococcal vaccine
is safe ““ there has been controversy in the past about
whether it causes severe side effects.

To make the vaccine, manufacturers grow the virus in a chick
embryo, said Dr. Aviva Boxer, who specializes in homeopathic
medicine.

She added that chemicals such as aluminum, formaldehyde and
monosodium glutamate are often used to further process the
vaccine.

Furthermore, people who are allergic to eggs or egg products
should not get the vaccine because of the chick embryos used the
manufacturing process.

According to the textbook “Special Pathology and Diagnosis
with Therapeutic Hints” by Dr. C.G. Raue, possible side
effects of the meningitis vaccine can be severe, including nerve
disorder, deafness and possible paralysis.

The book also says meningitis typically occurs during winter and
spring and is more likely to grow in damp, overcrowded and badly
ventilated places.

The meningitis germ seems to thrive where it finds soil prepared
by insufficient nourishment, and badly ventilated houses with
unclean ground floors, according to Raue’s book.

Consuming certain cheeses could also increase the risk of
meningitis. Raue writes that eight cheeses, including soft blue,
green vein, goat cheese and half-fat cheese contain the bacteria
associated with meningitis.