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Nancy Springer, a founding member of the National Meningitis Association, and mother to a son who suffered meningococcal meningitis while away at summer camp, warned parents to have their children vaccinated against Meningitis before sending them to camp.

The infection which strikes rapidly is often mistaken as a flu. The infected person is normally at the brink of death when doctors finally make a diagnosis.

Although the vaccine does not give a 100% guarantee of protection, it protects you against 4-5 strains of bacteria that causes the infection.

Around 3,000 people in the US acquire the meningococcal disease each year, 30% of which are teens and young adults. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is recommending young adults and children aged 11-12 get the meningitis shot. Not drinking from the same water bottle and sharing lipgloss is also a way to avoid getting infected.

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