Preventing meningitis beats treating it. Because the disease is so deadly, adolescents should be vaccinated with the conjugate vaccine at key times in order to prevent contraction of the disease, said Dr. Tom Clark, medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“The best time is when the kid is in your office to vaccinate them,” he said.

The CDC recommends children ages 11-12 should get vaccinated due to an increased risk of infection at those ages.

If they have not been previously immunized, teenagers should be vaccinated upon entering high school or college, where the risk of contracting meningitis is much higher because of close housing conditions.

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“Many people are unaware of the risks to their children in college,” said National Meningitis Association Executive Director Lynn Bozof, whose 20-year-old son died of meningitis during his junior year of college.

General confusion about when adolescents should get immunized and the availability of vaccines prompted health professionals from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to release updated information Thursday.

Meningitis affects 1,400 to 2,800 people annually in the United States, and 10 percent to 14 percent of those who contract the disease die from it Clark said.

“For the price of a pair of athletic shoes, we can immunize our children,” said Dr. Nancy Snyderman, a medical correspondent for NBC.

Media reports that stressed immunization at back-to-school time caused a flurry of requests for the vaccine in 2006, Snyderman said. Consequently, there was a shortage of the vaccine, but supplies have now been replenished to meet demand.

Meningitis is a year-round disease; parents should not wait to immunize their children in August and September, she said.

– By Danielle Ulman