Meningococcal disease, or bacterial meningitis, is a rare and potentially deadly disease marked by the inflammation of the thin tissue that envelopes the brain and spinal cord, known as the meninges. (Viral meningitis, a less serious form of the disease, is the result of a virus entering the body through the nose or mouth and traveling to the brain.) Beginning with bacteria that mimic a cold-like infection, bacterial meningitis can quickly block blood vessels and lead to stroke and brain damage. Some telltale symptoms of the disease include a sudden fever, a severe headache, and a stiff neck.

How Serious Is Meningitis?

Nearly 3,000 cases of bacterial meningitis occur every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the fatality rate is between 10 and 12 percent. For those who do survive, nearly one-fifth suffer lifelong disabilities, such as brain damage, kidney disease, hearing loss, or limb amputations. Although bacterial meningitis can strike anyone, close to 30 percent of all U.S. cases affect adolescents and young adults; however, experts believe that the majority of cases among adolescents are vaccine-preventable. Kids at camp and freshmen living in college dorms are also particularly susceptible to the disease.

What steps can you take to protect your child against this potentially fatal disease? Read on for a list of resources available for free or subsidized vaccinations as well as an important immunization fact sheet...

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