Don't Catch the Killer: Meningococcal Disease: A Guide for Students

Meningococcal disease is a serious illness caused by bacteria that infect the blood (meningococcal septicemia) or membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningococcal meningitis). This infection most often affects young adults living in close quarters. The goal of this video is to communicate to students and young people aged fifteen to twenty-five the seriousness of meningococcal disease and the ways to prevent it or identify it early enough for treatment. The video is sponsored by the Amanda Young Foundation. Amanda Young was an Australian teenager who died of meningococcal disease. As representatives of the foundation, both of her parents speak in the video about how quickly she was taken by the disease. Young Australian men and women whose lives have been impacted by meningitis deliver the key messages of prevention and early identification. The accents of the presenters and some Australian terminology may make it difficult for US audiences to decipher all of the dialogue. Key information is presented in captions to the narratives of the speakers and on separate screens of white text on a black background. The visual effect is stark, emphasizing the seriousness of the message. The effects of meningococcal disease include neurological sequelae such as hearing loss, speech disorders, loss of limbs, brain damage, and paralysis. Images of the amputations and scarring resulting from meningococcal septicemia reinforce the threat of these severe effects. The emphasis on prevention provides strategies for avoiding exposure especially in social settings. Early identification and treatment are essential; offered guidance includes summaries of the possible symptoms and suggestions of ways to get people involved in monitoring an ill individual. The section “Does Doctor Know Best?” emphasizes getting to a provider early and being assertive with health care practitioners. The students share stories of being told that they have a virus or having the diagnosis missed by physicians. The important role of patient and family advocacy comes through clearly. The medical spokesperson in the video is Clay Golledge, senior consultant in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia, and medical director of the Meningococcal Foundation of Australia. Golledge presents data on the prevalence of groups B, C, and Y and other meningococcal disease in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The video does not deliver any message about the importance of meningococcal vaccination as a prevention strategy; it simply states that a vaccine is available against meningococcal disease group C, but none against group B. The final screens list Websites in the United States, Canada, and Australia as sources of additional information. This video appears to be unique in its efforts to appeal directly to a student audience. The compelling and disturbing stories of these young people will likely reach a wide audience. The message of prevention and early identification of meningococcal disease could be more effectively disseminated had the video provided a greater diversity of speakers and situations. Other videos on meningococcal disease target health professionals as their primary audience, such as Fighting Meningococcal Disease, another video available from Aquarius Health Care Videos reviewed in this issue.

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