Health officials vaccinate Brooklyn drug users against meningitis
June 28, 2006, 11:45 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) _ Health officials plan to offer meningitis vaccinations to Brooklyn drug users following an outbreak in one of the borough's neighborhoods, the health department announced Wednesday. There have been 23 cases of a single strain of meningitis in and around the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn since December, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a news release. Eight people have died.
Since most of those who fell ill have been drug users, the health department plans to vaccinate only adults who have used cocaine, crack, heroine or methadone in the past three months. It is not clear why drug users appear to be at greater risk for the disease, the agency said. "The illness is not caused by the drugs themselves, and the increase may be related to close contact among people who have been affected," the release said. Participants must either live in or use drugs in the areas around the neighborhood. Officials also will vaccinate those who live in the same household as someone who otherwise qualifies. The health department said it expected the vaccination effort to continue for the next several weeks. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said in the release that the process would be "difficult" because of a nationwide shortage of vaccine, but he said his agency has asked the federal government for additional doses. It is unusual in the U.S. for meningitis to spread throughout a neighborhood, the agency said. More often, the illness spreads in close living quarters, such as military barracks and college dormitories.