In wake of campus meningitis cases, bill would require vaccine

ATLANTA - College students would be required to take meningitis vaccines under a bill proposed Thursday in the Georgia House. <br> <br> The bill was introduced a week after a Georgia Southern University student, freshman Esli Saint-Louis, was hospitalized for bacterial meningitis, an infection of spinal cord fluid and the fluid surrounding the brain that can be caused by bacteria or by a virus. <br> <br> GSU started offering $90 vaccines to students Thursday. <br> <br> The proposed bill would require college students to pay for the vaccines themselves, just as they are currently responsible for getting shots against measles, mumps and rubella before enrolling. Doctors say college students are at special risk for contagious diseases because they live in close quarters. <br> <br> Two years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that college students should be informed about bacterial meningitis and its vaccination. The CDC did not say vaccinations should be required. <br> <br> Under the House bill, students would be told of risks associated with the vaccine and could refuse the shot if they chose. The bill&#39;s sponsor, Representative Joe Wilkinson, said the measure was requested by parents of college students who battled the disease. <br> <br> The Republican legislator invited parents to a hearing about meningitis. <br> <br> Wilkinson said, ``There wasn&#39;t enough Kleenex in the room,&#39;&#39; He described the disease as cruel and vicious and almost impossible to diagnose until it&#39;s too late.