What is meningococcal disease? Meningococcal disease is caused
by the bacteria meningococcus. Some people are natural carriers
of the germ (harboring it in their throats and noses), but don't
get sick. In some instances, however, the germ "wakes up" and
can cause serious complications including bacterial meningitis
(an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal
cord) and meningococcemia (an infection of the blood and other
organs). It's quite contagious; an infected person can spread
the disease just by breathing. There are also known cases of
viral meningitis. The vaccine Haemophilus influenzae Type B
(HIB) is routinely given to children as part of their scheduled
immunizations to prevent mingococcal disease. Who gets it?
Infants should receive doses of the HIB vaccine as part of their
routine immunizations. High-risk individuals and those living in
cramped quarters (college students, people with compromised
immune systems) also should be vaccinated. What are the side
effects? People only ra