WASHINGTON — Meningitis is a rare disease that as many as 1,200 Americans contract each year. Of those people, between 10 and 15 percent of them die.
Some parents might think their children are immune if they’ve been vaccinated.
A national online survey reveals that nearly half of the mothers surveyed did not know that Meningococcal Meningitis can kill within 24 hours of the symptoms.
Seventy-five percent of mothers did not know it can cause hearing loss; 77 percent of mothers did not know it can lead to the amputation of limbs.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises that a child get vaccinated at 11 or 12 years old, and again at 16. The first vaccine loses effectiveness within five years, according to the CDC.
Also, the poll shows that 28 percent of mothers surveyed felt the second vaccine wasn’t vital. People between the ages of 16 and 21 are at greater risk for Meningitis, which causes swelling of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
The survey was conducted by Harris Poll between March 4 and 19 among more than 2,000 mothers who had a child between the ages of 11 and 18. The survey was conducted for Sanofi Pasteur, a global healthcare leader.
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