Meningococcal meningitis: an emerging infectious disease.

Meningococcal meningitis is a potentially fatal disease which can affect many 15- to 24-year-olds and those that are affected could have been protected from the disease if they had received the vaccination. The number of reported cases has increased during the past decade and account for many preventable deaths. Adolescents and young adults account for nearly 30 percent of all cases of meningitis in the United States. According to the American College Health Association, approximately 100 to 125 cases of meningococcal disease occur on college campuses each year and at least 60% of these cases are potentially preventable by vaccination. Therefore, it is important to understand the disease process, surveillance and diagnosis of the disease, and the need for vaccination as a form of prevention.