San Diego State University, where a meningococcal disease outbreak was declared about two months ago, announced Tuesday that roughly 8,000 students have since been vaccinated under a continuing partnership with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.
County health officials declared the meningococcal B outbreak in October after three students were diagnosed over the previous 3 1/2 months. County health officials and SDSU Student Health Services offered on-campus vaccination clinics for students after the outbreak, and no cases have been reported since then.
According to the university, the Division of Student Affairs recently launched an educational campaign to increase awareness of meningococcal bacterial infections and encourage more students to get vaccinated. The campaign has reached more than 3,000 students, university officials said.
"We appreciate how proactive our students have been in seeking out information about the meningococcal infection and in actively pursuing the MenB vaccine," said Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dooley. "This is aiding in our overall effort to ensure that our campus community is healthy and safe."
Meningococcal infections can be fatal and are generally spread by intimate contact like kissing and sharing objects that come in contact with a person's mouth. Symptoms can include high fever, headaches, a stiff neck, rashes, nausea and lethargy.
"Undergraduate students 23 and under not yet vaccinated should get vaccinated and those who have only received one dose should get the second," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.
SDSU students can receive one of the two meningococcal B vaccines, Trumenba or Bexserthe, on campus for free by calling Student Health Services at (619) 594-4325 or visiting healtheconnect.sdsu.edu.
