Add Meningitis Shot to Summer Camp To-Do List

The potentially lethal disease can strike youngsters, experts warn.

By Janice Billingsley
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, June 11, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

MONDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Sunscreen, swimsuit, bug repellent -- and the meningitis vaccine? Experts say the potentially lifesaving shot is now a "must-have" item for kids headed off to camp this summer.

"Many parents are aware [of the need for vaccination] when kids are leaving for college but don't think of it for early adolescence--they are not aware of the fact that the CDC is recommending vaccination for younger children," said Peg Smith, the CEO of the American Camp Association, a 7,000-member organization that aims to ensure that the nation's camps are safe and healthy.

Since 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that children aged 11 to 12 undergo routine immunization against meningococcal disease, which includes meningitis.

Nancy Ford Springer, a founding board member of the National Meningitis Association, was one of those who testified before the CDC urging that young people be immunized against meningococcal disease.

Her son, Nick, contracted the illness when he was 14 and away at camp. She speculates that he became sick after sharing water bottles with his fellow campers.

Nick survived, but not until he had both his legs and hands amputated because the infection had gotten into his bloodstream. He is now 22, a college student and a champion athlete -- he won the 2006 gold medal at the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, Christchurch, New Zealand.

"I'm all for sending kids to camp -- we sent Nick back to camp for three more years --but also for parents speaking to their pediatricians about vaccinating their children before going to camp," said Springer, who is a teacher for the deaf in Westchester County, N.Y.

To that end, the National Meningitis Association is working with the American Camp Association to increase awareness among the parents of campers as well as camp directors and counselors on the importance of vaccinating children before they go away to camp. Making sure that kids don't share water bottles or eating utensils can also cut down the risk.