.....announces recall for meningitis vaccine.......

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http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=14372

MIDDAY UPDATE: Olin announces recall for meningitis vaccine

By STEPHANIE KORNEFFEL

<http://www.statenews.com/reporterinfo.phtml?pk=228>

The State News

Olin Health Center has sent a letter to 2,300 people informing them the

meningitis vaccine they received has been recalled.

Aventis Pasteur is the only company in the country to produce a

meningitis vaccine which protects against strains A, C, Y and W-135. The

strain B is prevalent in the United States, but no vaccine has been

produced to protect against it.

The recall stems from the company finding that the vaccine didn't meet

its standards.

Anyone who received the vaccination from Jan. 2001 until now is

considered adequately protected, but should be vaccinated again if the

patient is traveling to certain regions such as Africa and Saudi Arabia,

or if they are working in lab conditions where they would be exposed to

the disease.

Since March 1997, two MSU students have died from meningitis strains C

and Y.

For more, see Wednesday's edition of The State News.