Bacterial meningitis : NPR

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Vaccine Against Meningitis B Gets A Boost From CDC

June 29, 2015 • A federal health advisory committee now says everyone aged 16 to 23 should talk to a doctor about whether they need to get immunized against a rare but dangerous strain of meningitis.

Vaccine Against Meningitis B Gets A Boost From CDC

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Paralympic Champion Makes The Case For Meningitis Vaccine

Amy Purdy, who lost both lower legs because of bacterial meningitis, performs with Derek Hough on Dancing With The Stars. Adam Taylor/ABC via Getty Images hide caption

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Adam Taylor/ABC via Getty Images

Paralympic Champion Makes The Case For Meningitis Vaccine

January 4, 2015 • Amy Purdy lost both legs below the knee to meningitis at age 19. She's now using her cred as a champion snowboarder to encourage teenagers to get vaccinated.

Why Meningitis That Hit Princeton Is Hard To Beat With Vaccines

Developing a vaccine for meningitis B was tricky. Even the existing vaccine doesn't protect against all B strains. Josef Muellek/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Josef Muellek/iStockphoto.com

Why Meningitis That Hit Princeton Is Hard To Beat With Vaccines

December 12, 2013 • It turns out that the bacteria that are responsible meningitis B have a sugar coating that makes them look a lot like human cells. That similarity makes development of a vaccine against the germs especially tricky.

To Fight Meningitis Outbreak, Princeton Tries European Vaccine

The Ivy League school has begun vaccinating nearly 6,000 students to try to stop an outbreak of type B meningitis in an unusual federal government-endorsed administration of a drug not generally approved for use in the U.S. Mel Evans/AP hide caption

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Mel Evans/AP

Shots - Health News

To Fight Meningitis Outbreak, Princeton Tries European Vaccine

December 10, 2013 • The vaccine made by Novartis isn't approved for general use in the United States. But the Food and Drug Administration is allowing it on the Princeton campus. The university is offering the vaccine to students and some other people on campus through Thursday.

Second Meningitis Outbreak Erupts In Southern California

Administrators at University of California, Santa Barbara are encouraging fraternities and sororities to hold off on parties. Damian Gadal/Flickr hide caption

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Damian Gadal/Flickr

Shots - Health News

Second Meningitis Outbreak Erupts In Southern California

December 4, 2013 • A meningitis outbreak at the University of California, Santa Barbara is causing the same kind of illnesses seen earlier at Princeton, but public health officials say a different bacterial strain is to blame. The UCSB health service has given preventive antibiotics to over 700 students as a precaution.

Why College Campuses Get Hit By Meningitis Outbreaks

Six students and a visitor have fallen ill with meningitis at Princeton University in New Jersey, shown here in August 2013. All have recovered or are recovering, officials said. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Why College Campuses Get Hit By Meningitis Outbreaks

November 19, 2013 • Princeton University is asking students to get vaccinated with a shot not approved for use in the U.S. in an effort to stop a meningitis outbreak. Meningitis can be deadly, and it spreads in places where people are in close contact, like a dormitory or a prison.

Princeton Meningitis Cases Spur Emergency Import Of Vaccine

Princeton University's Nassau Hall. DANIEL HULSHIZER/AP hide caption

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DANIEL HULSHIZER/AP

The Two-Way

Princeton Meningitis Cases Spur Emergency Import Of Vaccine

November 16, 2013 • There have been seven cases of bacterial meningitis on the university's campus since March. The FDA has given approval to importing a European vaccine because the strain detected at Princeton isn't covered by vaccines available in the U.S. The severe disease can cause serious complications or death.