There have been further calls in the United States for men who have sex with men to get vaccinated against bacterial meningitis, also known as meningococcal disease, after a series of deaths from the disease in gay men.

New York City officials began warning men who have sex with men who are not in committed relationships to get vaccinated in March after there were 22 cases of invasive meningococcal disease in the city since 2010, with seven of those fatal – and West Hollywood City councilman John Duran has been calling for gay men to get immunized after three gay men died from the disease in California since December.

Washington DC based LGBT heath provider Whitman-Walker Health has now proactively urged sexually active gay men in the district to also get immunized to prevent any deaths from the disease there.

‘Whitman-Walker Health recommends that all gay and bisexual men who meet the criteria set forth by the New York City Department of Health be vaccinated against bacterial meningitis,’ the organization posted on its website.

‘Whitman-Walker patients can request the vaccine from their individual provider. Non-WWH patients should contact their provider to be vaccinated.’

The New York City criteria for people at risk of contracting meningitis is ‘any gay man or MSM who is at least 18 years of age, regardless of HIV status, and has had intimate contact with a man they met through a website, digital application, a bar, or a party since September 1, 2012 or plan on having such contact in the future.’

Whitman-Walker Health chief medical officer Dr. Ray Martins stressed that there was no known outbreak of meningitis among gay men in Washington DC but warned people to play it safe and get vaccinated.

‘There is currently no “outbreak” of meningitis among gay and bisexual men in DC,’ Martins said.

‘If such an outbreak does occur, the city’s Department of Health will issue a warning.’

‘If an outbreak does occur in DC, current WWH medical patients will be able to receive a meningitis vaccine here and we will likely open the doors to the public to receive vaccinations.’

Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and the most common symptoms are headache, fever, neck stiffness, confusion, vomiting and an inability to tolerate light or loud noises.

The Meningitis vaccine will prevent invasive meningococcal disease from taking root but does not treat the disease if a person is already infected.