FIVE FACTS ABOUT MENNIGOCOCCAL DISEASE & PREVENTION .

1. Each year, meningococcal disease strikes nearly 600 to 1,000 Americans and up to 15% die.
2. Preteens and young adults are at greater risk for meningococcal disease than most, accounting for 21% of all reported cases. 
3. Among those who survive, approximately 20% live with permanent disabilities such as brain damage, limb amputations, hearing and vision loss and loss of kidney function.
4. Meningococcal disease is often misdiagnosed because its early symptoms are much like those of the Flu.

5. Health officials recommend routine vaccinations at 11 years of age with a booster dose again at the age of 16. As of 2013, a vaccine for two strains of meningitis existed but no vaccine for meningococcal disease (meningitis B) had been approved for use in the US but clinical studies continued. Including here in Rochester at Rochester Clinical Research.In 2014, with the help of family, friends and the tireless efforts of those at Rochester Clinical Research, two vaccines to protect against Serogroup B meningococcal disease were approved for use by the FDA in the US for ages 10 to 25. You can find out more about the study and the vaccine by visiting Rochester Clinical Research web site at www.rcrclinical.com.