Request a copy of your immunizations from your health care provider and maintain this record in your personal file. A less effective alternative may be to check with your high school to see if they have any documentation on file. You must specifically request your health care provider to supply that information to us. In your best interest, get a copy of your immunization record and maintain it. Upon entrance to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, you are placed on hold until your measles information is turned in to the Student Health Service.
Meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.
Common symptoms of meningitis include fever, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting, and rash. Risk factors also include social behaviors that end to reduce one's immune system such as lack of sleep, exposure to smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption. Meningococcal disease, strikes about 3000 Americans each year, leading to death in approximately 300 cases each year, with 5-15 of them being college students. Recent research indicates that students living in residence halls have a six times greater chance of developing the disease than college students in general. Based on the slight possibility of increased risk, ACIP recommends that students and parents consider the Menomune vaccine.