Michigan lawmakers could choose this week to pass legislation that would urge college-bound teens to receive meningitis vaccinations before moving onto state campuses.
If the measure is passed before Thursday, it would come less than a week after Ohio health officials began innoculating thousands of high school students in an effort to contain a meningitis-related outbreak that killed two teen-agers in May and put a third in the hospital June 2.
“The problem in Ohio underscores the work we have been doing here,” said state Rep. Lauren Hager, R-Port Huron and sponsor of the Michigan legislation. “It makes us more fully aware of the need to encourage our students to be vaccinated.”
Hager’s proposal was first considered by the state House Health Committee in April after he introduced the bill, which he created with help from MSU music education sophomore Adam Busuttil.
Busuttil was diagnosed with the Y strain of bacterial meningitis in October 1999. Meningococcal meningitis is an infection that inflames the lining surrounding the brain and spinal chord.
Busuttil’s case prompted MSU to distribute 16,000 vaccinations for students as a safety measure to prevent the spread of the infection across campus.
And since Busuttil’s case, the university has sent letters to incoming freshmen encouraging them to get vaccinated against meningitis and other diseases. MSU officials considered requiring the vaccine, but the idea was not approved.
“It’s so important for students to know what can happen to them and what precautions they can take,” Busuttil said. “I didn’t have any idea what meningitis was until I had it and I’m lucky to still be here.”
MSU has also produced a video about meningitis, featuring Busuttil, that it began using this summer at its Academic Orientation Program.
Hager’s original proposal was to have the state require college freshmen to get meningitis vaccinations before beginning classes.
That idea was changed in committee to requiring the state Department of Community Health to provide Michigan universities with information about vaccinations and to encourage the schools to forward it to incoming students.
Geralyn Lasher, Michigan Department of Community Health spokeswoman, said her office was uncomfortable with mandatory vaccinations because the measure is not effective for all forms of meningitis.
“You don’t want people having a false sense of security,” Lasher said. “An educational effort is something we feel more comfortable with.”
If Hager’s bill passes the House, it would be forwarded to the state Senate for consideration before it could be placed on the governor’s desk.
Lasher said Michigan officials are not worried about the cases in northern Ohio coming across the border.
“Meningitis doesn’t work like that,” she said. “It’s about close contact.”
Meningitis is transmitted person to person through close acts such as kissing, sharing a glass, sneezing or spitting - acts in which bodily fluids are exchanged.
Symptoms of meningitis include soreness of the neck, a sudden fever and other flu-like feelings.
