MENINGITIS FEAR SPURS LONG LINEUPS

January 3, 1998

MENINGITIS FEAR SPURS LONG LINEUPS

By Mary-Jane Egan -- Free Press Health Reporter WATERLOO -- The sounds of the new year are ear-piercing shrieks if you work for the Waterloo Region Community Health Department.
Facing the worst outbreak of deadly meningitis in this region's history, long lines of wailing youngsters, worried parents and braver older siblings snaked through school corridors across the city Friday, awaiting the meningitis vaccine.
For many, like five-year-old Zachary Miller, it was no way to kick off a new year.
Despite encouragement from dad Bob, who held the youngster on his lap throughout the ordeal, there was no consoling him once that needle met flesh. Older brother Dustin, 11, took it all in stride: "It was nothing," he beamed.
Friday kicked off three days in which about 50,000 of the Waterloo region's youngsters between ages two and 12 are to be vaccinated.
In the wake of the deaths of two Kitchener-Waterloo teenage girls from meningitis in the past month -- one who died Wednesday at the London Health Sciences Centre -- health officials are taking extensive precautions against the rare but deadly brain infection.
$50 A DOSE
Already, 37,000 people in the highest- risk age group of 12 to 22 have been vaccinated. At $50 a dose, the Health Ministry could be facing a total bill of $2 million, health officials estimate.
About five hours into the nine-hour vaccination clinics at six area schools, some clinics had already vaccinated more than 2,000 people with waits, in some cases, as long as three hours.
At Resurrection elementary school -- located less than one kilometre from the high school Melissa Maharaj, 18, attended until her death in London on Wednesday, several in the slow-moving line described the outbreak as "frightening."
'PRETTY SCARY'
"It's pretty scary," said 19-year-old Susan Dasilva, who was among several teens who missed earlier clinics and was getting vaccinated Friday. "It's all we're talking about," she said of her friends. "Everybody's saying you've got to be careful and think about being careful."
Grace Ross, a manager with Waterloo Region Community Health Department, was overseeing a busy clinic at Eastwood Collegiate.
As parents with children in tow joined the ever-growing lines to enter the school gym, Ross said parents "have been wonderful."
"Some of them have been in line close to three hours holding babes in arms. Their patience has been amazing."
Cyndy Jacobsen, with daughter Grace, two, and son Christian, five, was last in line. She had brought the youngsters down earlier but gave up after a half-hour and returned home. Once there, she read for the first time about Maharaj's death and made a bee-line back to the school.
"It's a real concern as a parent. I'll wait as long as it takes now."
Brian Hatton, director of environmental health, sympathized with parents and children as waiting lines inched along.
"There's a lot of anxiety among parents. The kids get hot with their coats on and they're tired. We've had a few feel oozy but we've got St. John Ambulance on hand. All considered, it's going pretty smoothly."
Ross said the vaccination clinics are being confined to Kitchener-Waterloo because "you needed to create a boundary somewhere and all the cases we've had (six were reported in the region in December) are within the boundary area."
She said it is highly unlikely to see a case of meningitis in persons beyond about age 22.
"People over that age build up a natural immunity. Meningitis is actually in the population a lot, if you swab people's throats. But we're not sure why it affects certain people and not others. That's why we don't do this as a regular vaccine, like measles, because it is so rare."