OneShot

In the 2009 epidemic season, 78,416 suspected cases of meningococcal meningitis were reported in fourteen neighboring countries that make up Africa’s ‘meningitis belt’, the largest confluence of meningitis on Earth. (For map of meningitis belt, see appendix C1) Dust-winds, cold nights, and upper respiratory tract infections common to this region, in combination with the prevalence of regional HIV/AIDS, lead to rapid and extraordinary transmission of the meningococcal infection; a disease that left unchecked can kill within 48 hours of contraction. Due to the severity of this epidemic trend, the Serum Institute of India (SIIL) is manufacturing a vaccine conjugate engineered specifically for the meningitis belt of Africa. With the aid of the World Health Organization (WHO), the distribution of this vaccine will provide effective and efficient case management of reactive mass vaccinations in heavily hit epidemic districts. With this conjugate becoming available in early December 2010, it is estimated that these reactive mass vaccinations can prevent up to 70 percent of the already staggering number of cases. Meningococcal disease is indiscriminate of geographic location, and even 7400 miles from the meningitis belt of Africa, the presence of this disease is still a huge issue in the United States, and right here in Tempe, Arizona. Being a communicable disease and incredibly easily transmitted in close quarters like dormitories and other university housing options, meningococcal meningitis is not only one of our countries’ most silent and deadly predators, it is also completely preventable with vaccination. Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial infection that claims the lives of nearly 2,600 individuals in the United States per year. The infection causes inflammation of the membrane surrounding a human’s brain and spinal cord, leading to symptoms that include commonly interchangeable ailments such as a fever, stiff neck, and headache, all of which can be prevalent within mere hours of infection . Without immediate medical treatment, infectees will die in as few as two days, and even with early medical attention up to 20 percent of patients will also diei. Among the survivors of the infection’s initial onslaught, upwards of 20 percent will experience permanent and life-changing ailments such as deafness, blindness, learning disabilities, or nervous system damagei. In response to the international threat of meningococcal meningitis, OneShot is a non-profit organization that seeks to provide meningococcal meningitis vaccinations to college students living in dormitories and university housing, while also addressing the global issue at hand. In classic one-for-one fashion popularized by Tom’s Shoesiii, for every vaccine administered stateside OneShot will donate a vaccine to the meningitis belt of Africa. In addition to vaccinations, OneShot plans to prevent meningitis through awareness and education campaigns, and the promotion of leading healthier and more fulfilling lives. Rather than addressing this is as medical issue with a social component, OneShot will take the reciprocal and make this a social issue with a medical component. OneShot will employ the aid of a vast range of campus groups and resources, providing opportunities to students for personal and professional development in all aspects of the organization. Aside from the non-profit entity, OneShot will also form a student-run club dedicated to additional means of fundraising, disease and immunization education, and inter-campus relations.