“Is the spread of meningitis being contained?”

Yes, most bacterial meningitis can be contained by prevention with vaccines. The vaccines prevents the child vaccinated from getting the infection, but if enough children are vaccinated, then the child who cannot be vaccinated (think of the child with cancer or other diseases that damages his/her immune system) may also may be protected.

G. Dickinson

There is not an epidemic of meningitis in school children. Bacterial meningitis has, indeed, become much less common over the past decade or so, largely due to the fact that we have great vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis, the two most common causes. For a long time we lacked a vaccine against N. meningitidis type b, but now we have one of those, too. The incidence of bacterial meningitis is actually highest during the freshman year of college, particularly in students who live in the dorms. Most colleges, therefore, require N. meningitis vaccination for their incoming students. Having said that, even before the vaccines, the risk was quite low. The disease can certainly be devastating, but it was never common.

Randall Fisher, M.D.