ST. PAUL -- Top state health officials are asking at-risk men to seek vaccination against a disease that killed a man in Ramsey County.
The Minnesota Department of Health issued a press release urging men who have sex with other men -- particularly those who are HIV positive -- to get vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis.
According to the release, the Ramsey County man, who was in his 40s, was HIV positive and known to have sex with other men. He became infected with C Neisseria meningitidis, a bacteria that is fatal in about 10 percent to 15 percent of cases, and is responsible for an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Chicago.
Most of the men in the Chicago outbreak who became infected also were HIV positive.
Kristen Ehresmann, director of the infectious disease division at the state health department, said preventing an outbreak amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) is critical.
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“We believe that the MSM community in Minnesota may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease,” she said. “We want to try to head off the possibility of an outbreak occurring here, so we strongly encourage all MSM, especially those who are HIV-positive, to go get vaccinated.”
The health department said seven cases have been reported in the Chicago outbreak, killing one. All infected there were men who had sex with other men.
