Possible health policy change at OU ATHENS, OH (WOUB) - An investigation of bacterial meningitis cases at Ohio University could result in a new policy at the school -- MANDATORY vaccination against the disease for students.

That was one piece of news to come out of a press conference Friday with Athens County Health Commissioner Dr. James Gaskell.

Gaskell also said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now concluded the problem is worse than originally thought.

"They've classified it as an outbreak," Gaskell says. "We started out calling it a cluster because we had cases over about a two-year period and they were all the same type and we were interested in preventing more cases because this disease is associated with a 10 percent mortality."

CDC officials arrived on campus to investigate this past week at the invitation of OU after seven students came down with bacterial meningitis over the past year.

The mandatory vaccination proposal would be for incoming freshmen.

A Health Department official says the requirement is highly probable.

The shot would prevent some types of meningitis but not all.

© Copyright 2012, WOUB