After 2 Cases Of Meningitis B At Rutgers, School Urges Vaccines

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Two college students at Rutgers University in New Brunswick had to be hospitalized for meningitis this past February, and now this week the school confirmed the students had the same strain of the deadly bacteria, meningitis type B.

There is a current meningitis vaccine that all Rutgers students are required to get to live on campus. But that shot does not inoculate against type B, and now Rutgers is urging all students to get that second vaccination, said the school in a statement Tuesday night.

Even though both students have recovered and there are no new cases, the two diagnoses were enough for the state Department of Health to declare this an "outbreak" of meningitis type B at Rutgers.

"The New Jersey Department of Health declared an outbreak of meningitis B at Rutgers-New Brunswick because two students were diagnosed last month with versions of the bacterium in which the typing genes were identical (type B)," said Rutgers spokesman Neal Buccino.

On-campus students at Rutgers were already mandated to receive the meningitis vaccine against for types A, C, W and Y of the bacteria, but that vaccine does not inoculate against type B, which is the bacterium involved in this outbreak. This newest type of the meningitis vaccine, called "MenB," was just approved in 2015.

Rutgers recommends the vaccine for all undergraduate students residing on or off campus, and graduate students who live in undergraduate residence halls.

Both students have since recovered. In the first case, the Rutgers student was hospitalized February 4, received treatment and was released from the hospital. The second student came down with meningitis Feb. 23 and also had to be hospitalized.

Meningitis is treatable with antibiotics once diagnosed, but quick medical attention is extremely important. Otherwise, meningitis can be fatal, and kill within days of being diagnosed, according to the Mayo Clinic.

New Jersey law requires all students in university housing have the meningitis ACWY vaccine.

"To protect the student population, we are strongly recommending that all Rutgers–New Brunswick undergraduate students and graduate students who live in undergraduate residence halls become vaccinated against meningitis type B," said Rutgers. "Immunization is the best protection against this disease."

Students can access the meningitis B vaccine at the Student Health Centers, on-campus clinics and their local health care provider or pharmacy, said Rutgers.

There have been no new meningitis reported cases since.

Past coverage: 2nd Rutgers Student Now Has Bacterial Meningitis