SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 14

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING ALL STATE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ALL STUDENTS AND PARENTS ABOUT MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE, EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENT DISEASE SEROGROUPS, SYMPTOMS, RISKS, VACCINES AND TREATMENTS.

     WHEREAS, meningococcal disease is any infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis; and

     WHEREAS, although one in ten people are carriers of this bacteria with no signs or symptoms of disease, sometimes Neisseria meningitidis bacteria can cause illness; and

     WHEREAS, there are approximately eight hundred to one thousand five hundred cases of meningococcal disease that occur each year; and

     WHEREAS, ten to fifteen out of one hundred infected people will die even when treated, while approximately ten or twenty out of every one hundred people who survive will suffer from serious morbidity, including loss of limbs and impacts to the nervous system; and

     WHEREAS, infants under one year of age and young adults between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three are among those most commonly affected by this disease; and

     WHEREAS, meningococcal disease is spread from person to person by the exchange of bacteria through respiratory and throat secretions during close or lengthy contact; and

     WHEREAS, community settings where large groups of people gather, such as college campuses, can increase the risk of the spread of meningococcal disease; and

     WHEREAS, there are different strains of serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis, with serogroups B, C and Y accounting for most meningococcal diseases in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, there have been several recent outbreaks of serogroup B meningococcal disease on college campuses, with some cases resulting in death; and

     WHEREAS, there are vaccines that help provide protection against all three serogroups commonly seen in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, vaccination for serogroups A, C, W and Y are routinely recommended by the centers for disease control and prevention; and

     WHEREAS, the centers for disease control and prevention's advisory committee on immunization practices recommends that decisions to vaccinate adolescents and young adults between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three against serogroup B meningococcal disease should be made at the individual level with health care providers; and

     WHEREAS, it is critical that students, parents, educators and health care providers understand the dangers of meningitis B and are aware that a vaccine is available to prevent disease resulting from that serogroup; and

     WHEREAS, the recent increase in the incidence of meningococcal disease has served as a reminder of the critical role that vaccinations play in helping to prevent this devastating illness;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that all state private and public high schools, colleges and universities be requested to provide information to all students and parents about meningococcal disease, explaining the different disease serogroups, symptoms, risks, vaccines and treatments; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that schools be requested to provide a notice of availability, benefits, risks and limitations of all meningococcal vaccines receiving a recommendation from the centers for disease control and prevention's advisory committee on immunization practices, including category A and category B recommendations, with specific information regarding those persons at higher risk for the disease; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each state private and public high school, college and university be requested to recommend that current and entering students receive meningococcal vaccines in accordance with current advisory committee on immunization practices guidelines; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of higher education, the secretary of public education and the executive director of the New Mexico association of non-public schools.

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