(ABC News) New York City health officials are urging some men to get vaccinated against meningitis amid an outbreak that has sickened 22 New Yorkers and killed seven.
The dangerous strain of bacterial meningitis appears to be spreading through sexual encounters between men who meet through websites or smartphone apps, or at bars or parties, according to the City's health department. More than half of the infected men have had HIV, a virus that attacks the immune system making infections more likely and more severe.
"Vaccination is the best defense," City health commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. "I urge all men who meet these criteria – regardless of whether they identify as gay – to get vaccinated now and protect themselves from this disease before it is too late."