From November 2016 to March 2017, Benton County Health Department investigated three cases of confirmed serogroup B meningococcal disease in undergraduate students attending Oregon State Unniversity in Corvallis. The third case triggered targeted mass MenB vaccination efforts in March and April. This outbreak is considered active through March of 2018, however the Oregon Health Authority will demobilize their incident command structure.
Vaccination is recommended for all undergraduate students age 25 and under. Students who live in on-campus housing and those who are members of, or visit off-campus congregate housing, are urged to act on this recommendation.
Currently, the two-dose Bexsero vaccine has been selected for the OSU clinic. Students will be given follow-up instructions on how and when to seek their second dose. They may seek MenB vaccines outside of the OSU clinic. OHA would like to remind providers that the two brands of MenB vaccine are NOT interchangeable. Read the March 19 article.
Through March 2018, health care providers are asked to consider meningococcal disease in their differential diagnosis for college students – particularly those linked to OSU, presenting with unexplained high fever, headache, stiff neck or rash. Please report any suspected cases to your local public health department.