The full scope of Public Health’s responsibilities is something which is continuously being debated.  Many things come to mind when we think of public health. Compulsory vaccines, combatting epidemics and outbreaks all come to mind. But who makes these decisions? And how are the ethical […]

UPDATE: As a result of requests, we have extended our deadline to MONDAY, MARCH 31 @ 11:59 PM! Have you submitted a paper for a class? Is it now gathering figurative dust on your hard drive? Take a few minutes to share it with us, […]

Although a host of different bacteria, viruses, and fungi can all potentially cause the onset of meningitis, the eight Princeton cases have all been determined to be the work of N. meningitides serotype B1. In a void of FDA approved vaccines, the University is turning […]

In the past few weeks, Princeton University has found itself a hot topic in the media for what has now been described as an outbreak of meningitis B1. Although Princeton currently requires all students to be vaccinated against meningitis, the current vaccine does not protect […]

Meningitis is an infection in the membrane layers surrounding the brain and the spinal cord called the meninges. It is airborne and is spread through close contact such as coughing or sneezing. The outbreak is related to type B (serogroup B) meningococcal bacteria which is […]

For the past nine months, Princeton University has been trying to halt an outbreak of bacterial meningitis in its students without success. Since bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord that can cause brain damage and death, having it on […]

Statistics illustrate the extent to which Alzheimer’s disease is prevalent in the United States. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and nearly 5.2 million Americans of all ages have this disease in 2013. In fact, it is estimated that […]

On Friday, November 22, the eighth case of meningitis was reported at Princeton University. This case, like the seven previous ones confirmed at Princeton over the past nine months, was shown to be caused by a rare meningococcal bacterium known as serotype B. While this may be regarded as a small number in a campus of 5,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students, what worries public health officials is that meningitis is a rare disease. Moreover, group B is particularly rare in the United States.

Meningitis is generally characterized as the inflammation of a membrane that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord…