Officials from the Princeton University have confirmed an eight case of meningitis on Friday. They are now waiting for approval to have the students vaccinated against the strain.
"Health officials will be conducting tests to determine if this latest case is related to the seven cases of meningitis associated with the University since March," university spokesman Martin Mbugua said in an e-mail to CNN.
On Wednesday, a female student was rushed to the hospital for treatment after showing symptoms of the brain infection. She is not the first victim this year as there were seven cases reported since March.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. There are five types of the disease depending on the cause: bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal, and non-infectious/
The school officials will be providing vaccines to about 5,500 students living in their dormitories and other members of the school community as soon as the CDC approves of the meningitis strain seen on the female student. The vaccination program can’t begin yet as the vaccine needed is not yet licensed in the United States though it is already in use in Australia and Europe.
The strain of the latest meningitis case called “serogroup B” is rare but not the first in the country. The school plans to give two doses of Bexsero manufactured by Swiss Novartis.
"Everyone involved is working hard to organize a potential serogroup B meningococcal disease vaccine campaign as quickly as possible that fits into Princeton University's academic calendar," said CDC spokeswoman Sharon Hoskins to Reuters.
