Client

MFA

Date

04/2004

Dear Annie: Students are heading back to school this time of year, but many of them are unaware that they may be at risk for meningitis infection.

August is Meningitis Awareness and Prevention Month. Meningitis is a serious, sometimes fatal infection causing inflammation of the membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms develop rapidly and are similar to the flu. Meningitis is difficult to diagnose, which is why vaccination against this disease is the best protection.
I know because I contracted meningococcal meningitis my freshman year of college, which resulted in a loss of nine of my toes, and part of the septum in my nose and palate in the roof of my mouth. I didn't know what meningitis was or that there are preventative methods available, and I found out the hard way.

Although meningitis can affect people of any age, young children are most susceptible. That is why they should receive the vaccine to protect them against invasive pneumococcal disease, the most common cause of meningitis in infants and young children. Young adults, especially those in college, the military or other large group settings, should be immunized with the meningococcal vaccine.

To find out more about meningitis, your readers can call us at 1-800-668-1129 or visit our Web site at www.musa.org. Please make your readers aware that there are preventative measures that can be taken to protect themselves and their families from this terrible disease.
Sincerely
-- Ryan Pike, Development Director, Meningitis Foundation of America, Indianapolis, Ind.

Dear Ryan Pike: Thank you for this timely warning. Please, readers, if any of your family members are going to be spending the coming year in a group setting, talk to your doctor about appropriate vaccinations for meningitis.