By Matt Ostrowski
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA – Andy Marso understands the pain and suffering that can result from meningitis.
“Within 24 hours I went from being a healthy college student to being in intensive care with essentially a 50/50 shot of survival,” Marso, who lost most of his fingers and the front halves of his feet from meningitis, said.
Marso came down with the illness in April of 2004 while attending the University of Kansas. He spent three weeks in a coma, the next four months in the hospital, and still had to go through about a year of therapy just to be able to do day-to-day tasks like walking again.
Now, Kansas legislature could be taking steps to prevent meningitis cases like Marso’s. HB 2205 passed through the Kansas House of Representatives on a 104-20 vote recently. This bill would require Kansas children to receive a meningitis vaccination before enrolling in any Kansas school, public or private. It has been referred to the Kansas Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare, where they will hear the bill.
The bill specifically states that children must receive the vaccination no earlier than the age of 11, and also receive a booster shot at the age of 16, similar to what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends.
“If you look at the spikes for meningitis, there’s a spike in high school, and then there’s a spike in college,” said Leah Luckeroth, a physician at Watkins Health Services at the University of Kansas. “Those are the two spikes that people look at, and that’s why it’s recommended to get the vaccine both times.”
Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. According to the National Meningitis Association, 21 percent of all meningitis cases occur in those aged 11-24. Meningitis can be deadly, with 10-15 percent of meningitis cases resulting in death, and among those that survive, 19 percent live with permanent disabilities.
“The thing that you have to remember is that it’s rare, but it’s deadly,” she said. “They get it, but they can be dead in 12 hours,” Luckeroth said.
Currently, Kansas law states that the following vaccinations are required: diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, German measles, tetanus, and chickenpox. According to the CDC, in 2015 63.7 percent of 13 to 17-year-olds received a meningitis vaccine in Kansas. The national average was 81.3 percent.
There are multiple types of meningitis strains, which means there are multiple types of vaccines. HB2205 does not specify which vaccine is to be required.
The most common types of meningitis are strains A, B, C, W and Y, according to the CDC.
The CDC has recommended the use of a vaccine that is effective against strains A, C, W and Y since 2005, with the first shot being administered at age 11 or 12, and a booster shot at age 16. It wasn’t until 2015 that the CDC recommended a vaccine that is effective against strain B, which is what Marso had, for young adults aged 16 to 23.
Students who come to college are at high risk of meningitis, according to Luckeroth. University of Kansas has required all students living in university-owned housing to receive a meningitis vaccine since 2005.
Luckeroth said she recommends vaccinations, pointing out the quickness with which meningitis acts as one of the main reasons why.
“I guess the problem with meningitis is it’s so rare but it’s so deadly,” she said. “So you don’t have lots of options once somebody has it. Especially if you can die within 12 hours.”
As for Marso, he suggests vaccines for all types of diseases. However, he understands the low rate of vaccination, due to the lack of education about meningitis. So, utilizing his experience with the disease, he feels it is his duty to talk about it and educate people.
“I feel like that’s my responsibility,” he said. “I need to, you know, be somebody who talks about my experience, as difficult as that is sometimes, and raises awareness about it.”
Matt Ostrowski is a University of Kansas senior journalism major from Roselle, Illinois.
