John Doolittle: “I became really intimately aware of the ravages of this disease when a meningitis outbreak hit the Sacramento region in…”

“I became really intimately aware of the ravages of this disease when a meningitis outbreak hit the Sacramento region in 2000, and then again in 2001, killing five high school students, three of whom were my constituents. Peter and Rose Kwett, personal friends of mine from Carmichael, California, saw their 15-year-old daughter, Mary Jo, taken from them as a result of this dreaded disease. This year, there have been seven cases reported in my region, including the fatality of a sixth-grade girl from Greer Elementary School in Sacramento. I introduced this resolution really to heighten the awareness of this terrible disease which afflicts approximately 2,500 individuals in the United States each year. As the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) indicated, people can do certain things to protect themselves, generally involving what we think of as good hygiene habits. Also, there is a vaccine available. Last year in my home State of California, the legislature passed a resolution designating the month of April as Meningitis Awareness Month. The Meningitis Awareness Key to Prevention Organization supports this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.”