Addressing the Challenges of Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease Outbreaks on Campuses

Recent outbreaks of serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease on US college campuses have heightened awareness about the gap in available vaccines to protect against this serious and sometimes fatal infection. Federal agencies, college health authorities, public health officials, and consumer advocates are in a heightened state of awareness about the challenges of facing this unpredictable disease and the need for an effective and timely public health response when outbreaks occur. Challenges in responding to the recent outbreaks provided a compelling reason for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to assemble a panel of stakeholders/subject matter experts to examine the public health response to the recent outbreaks and strategies for appropriate and streamlined public health responses to future outbreaks.