At a meeting of Princeton Council Monday night, an update on the meningitis outbreak at Princeton University provoked some questions among members of the governing body about risks to members of the local community. But Bob Hary, Princeton’s interim health officer, and George DiFerdinando, Jr., a physician who is with the New Jersey Board of Health, said the eight cases of the disease are confined to the campus and pose no serious threat to the general public.

“All of the partners are now in contact every day,” Mr. Hary said, referring to the University, state health officials, the municipality and the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC has been actively monitoring the situation since students returned to campus in the fall and a case was reported in October. Five cases had been reported the previous semester.

Both men assured the Council that the outbreak is confined to undergraduates at the University. Mr. DiFerdinando stressed that there has to be intimate contact С kissing, sharing water bottles or toothbrushes С in order for the disease to spread.

Mr. Hary said a “direct contact investigation” is launched by the town as soon as a case is diagnosed. “It’s very important that these individuals are treated prophylactically right away, sometimes within hours,” he said. “My job is to get the case contacts and make them aware and make sure they are treated. The major thing is education and public awareness.”

Information has been placed on the town’s website and in the public schools. A vaccine has been proposed, which Mr. Hary said is good news. The University is following CDC advice to offer a vaccine that helps protect against meningitis B to undergraduate and graduate students who live in dormitories. Made by Novartis, it has been approved in Australia and Europe, but has yet to be sanctioned in the United States, where Princeton is the only community to be allowed to use the vaccine. The first doses will be available early in December, and students can receive a booster dose the following semester, Mr. Hary said.

Councilwoman Jo Butler asked how safe it was for children who visit the campus to take part in sports events. Some 300 students from the Princeton community participate in a basketball league on campus, while about 70 use campus facilities for wrestling. Volunteers from the University also interact with clients of Corner House.

“It is surprising how intimate contact has to be to spread it,” Mr. DiFerdinando said. “The close contact is closer than contact at a sports event.”

As with the seven earlier cases diagnosed at the University, the eighth case confirmed last week is of type B. All of the people affected have recovered or are recovering.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Signs include headache, fever, and a stiff neck. Depending on the cause of the infection, the disease can get better on it’s own in a few weeks, or can be life-threatening requiring urgent antibiotic treatment.

“The big thing I want to convey is that the people in the University cases are no older than undergraduates, and no residents have gotten sick,” Mr. Hary said. “It is a severe and relatively uncommon event, and we feel we get almost all, if not 100 percent, of the cases that occur. If there were cases in the community, we would know about them.”