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In the U.S., Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) is responsible for about half of all cases of invasive meningococcal disease in people aged 17 to 22. Recently, two MenB vaccines were licensed for use in this country.
On February 2, 2015, a case of MenB disease was reported in a male student attending Providence College. Three days later, a second MenB case was reported in a male undergraduate who had no contact with the first patient. The extrapolated attack rate was 44 cases per 100,000 students — 500 times the national incidence in this age group. Both cases involved the same unusual MenB strain (ST-9069), and both patients recovered.
In response to these cases, officials provided ciprofloxacin prophylaxis to 71 identified contacts a…