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Princeton University announced its seventh case of meningitis since March of this year. The New Jersey state health department had declared the situation on the Ivy League campus an outbreak. Due to the potential dangers involved, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will import a meningitis vaccine and possibly distribute them to the New Jersey University.

"This is a bad disease and we know how devastating it is," the acting head of the CDC's meningitis and vaccine preventable diseases branch, Dr. Thomas Clark said according to NBC News. "A lot of us had a gut feeling that there would be more cases and we should get the ball rolling."

Currently, in the U.S., the approved meningitis vaccines do not protect against type B meningococcal bacteria, which is the strain that has affected the students. According to the CDC's spokeswoman, Barbara Reynolds, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the import of Bexsero. Bexsero, manufactrured by Novartis, is a vaccine that is only licensed for use in Europe and Australia. The vaccine does protect against the meningitis B strain. If the school decides to use the vaccine, students will have to choice to receive that vaccine. The vaccine will only be available for students at Princeton University.

"If you're a student at Princeton University right now, your risk is quite high," Clark stressed.

The CDC had asked for the investigational new drug application to be available by early October after the fifth meningitis case was confirmed on campus. So far, six of the seven infected individuals have fully recovered. The most recent patient was hospitalized and is still recovering.

Meningitis is a bacterial infection that causes the protective membranes of the central nervous system, which is composed of the brain and spinal cord, to become inflamed. An infection can lead to severe symptoms, such as fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, headache and mental changes. Meningitis is contagious and can be spread through sharing cups or utensils, kissing or prolonged contact. To address the outbreak, the university distributed red drinking cups with the phrase, "Mine, Not Yours," printed across it. In order to control the situation, students have to be encouraged to stay clean.