Fox 5 News is reporting that New York City had six meningitis cases since late December and three of the cases were fatal. The victims ranged in age from 4 to 74.

The cases are not due to a single strain of bacterium and the victims have not been linked in any manner.

The New York City Health Department is asking doctors to immediately report all suspected or confirmed cases because of the higher than expected incidence of the disease.

Meningococcal disease is a serious, potentially fatal bacterial infection that strikes an average of 1,500 Americans annually. In particular, adolescents and young adults are at increased risk of contracting the disease.

It can be spread by coughing, kissing and even small children putting toys in their mouth.

Some of the common symptoms are fever, headache, stiff neck, rash, and possibly an altered mental status.

Early treatment of antibiotics greatly improves the probability of survival and people who come in contact with infected patients should also be treated.

But in three of these recent cases there were delays in reporting the illness. One case apparently wasn’t diagnosed until the medical examiner performed an autopsy.

The known cases include a 22-year-old Manhattan woman who died in December. A January 1, 2011, case killed a 55-year-old Staten Island woman. The next day a 4-year-old Bronx boy was diagnosed. He is still alive.

On January 5, 2011, a 74-year-old Bronx man survived after being diagnosed and the following day a 24-year-old Brooklyn man was diagnosed. He has also survived.

In the most recent case, a 28-year-old Manhattan woman died on January 11.

There are vaccines that government doctors say are safe and highly effective.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine vaccination of all persons 11-18 years of age with 1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine at the earliest opportunity. Pre-teens who are 11-12 years old should be routinely vaccinated at the 11-12 year old check-up as recommended by ACIP. This visit is the best time for adolescents to receive meningococcal conjugate vaccine. Also, since the occurrence of meningococcal disease increases during adolescence, health-care providers should vaccinate previously unvaccinated pre-teens and teens 11-18 years of age with meningococcal conjugate vaccine at the earliest possible health-care visit.

(Source: MyFoxNY)