MADISON, Wis. -- An area mother who lost her college-aged son to meningitis is urging other parents to make sure their children get immunized.

Gail Bailey said that every time she hears about a case of meningitis, a wound opens in her heart.

"When you see these young people (and) it keeps happening, it's so devastating," Bailey said. "And I never thought I would lose a child and I don't want anyone else to go through that ever again."

The Jefferson mother lost her 20-year-old son, Eddie, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, to bacterial meningitis eight years ago.

"He called me Sunday night. He was dead Tuesday morning," Bailey said.

Dr. Thomas Murwin, a Dean Clinic pediatrician, said that as children start practicing more "adult-like behaviors," the meningitis risk goes up, peaking at age 18 or 19. He said that living in college dorms can play a role in contracting meningitis.

"Meningitis can be caused by bacteria or viruses," Murwin said. "(In college dorms) you have a lot of people who've never seen each other before. Therefore different bacteria that live on one person's body just fine, but if it gets into another person's body can cause serious illness."

The National Meningitis Association said that 15 to 19 percent of teens who get meningitis will die from it, and 20 percent of survivors suffer disabilities like deafness or loss of limbs.

For children ages 11 to 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a vaccine.

"I think all kids should get the meningitis vaccine before high school, when people congregate in bigger groups," Murwin said.

In February, 22-year-old UW-Madison student Neha Suri died of bacterial meningitis.

Days later, Haleyem Thorpe, 16, of Mount Horeb, also died of meningitis.

The deaths triggered more talk about vaccines. Health experts said the vaccine is safe, effective and available, but they are not state-mandated for students.

"They have not put meningitis, nor HPV, on the required (immunizations) list, nor have many colleges. They can say, 'We want everyone to have meningococcal vaccines before they come to college.'" Murwin said.

Bailey said she is continuing to raise awareness about meningitis in her son's honor. She said she hopes more people will talk to their doctors about the vaccine.

"I support people making their own decisions, but if they know the facts, I would hope they would get vaccinated," Bailey said.

Bailey's work with a mothers group helped push through a state law requiring meningitis education.

UW-Madison Health Services recommends and offers a meningitis vaccine for $103. The vaccine could reduce an individual's risk of meningitis by 65 percent, according to the Health Services department.

For more information about meningitis, visit the National Meningitis Association's website at www.nmaus.org.