Kay Bailey Hutchison: “Bacterial meningitis affects 3,000 people across the United States each year. Approximately 10 to 13 percent of patients…”

“Bacterial meningitis affects 3,000 people across the United States each year. Approximately 10 to 13 percent of patients with bacterial meningitis die despite receiving antibiotics early in the disease. Of those individuals who survive, an additional 10 percent have severe aftereffects of the disease, including mental retardation, hearing loss, and loss of limbs. My bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, to develop and make available information about bacterial meningitis. In addition, it would make available information about the availability and the effectiveness of bacterial meningitis vaccinations for children and adults. To help prevent these needless deaths, the bill requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide this information to a list of institutions, including child care centers, schools, universities, boarding schools, summer camps, detention facilities, and, as determined appropriate by the Secretary any other entity that provides housing in a dorm-like setting.”