Bacterial meningitis is an infection that originates in the meninges of the brain and can spread into the spinal column. The symptoms can develop within hours and take up to two days after encountering a carrier host. Bacterial meningitis can be transmitted through fluid transmission from the mouth or throat of an infected person. Bacterial meningitis is a gram-negative meningitis diplococcal bacterium. There are several bacteria types that can cause meningitis, which include Streptococcus pneumoniae (the most common cause), Groupe B Streptococcus, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, and Listeria monocytogenes. The meningitis does not live long on surfaces outside the host but has shown to live longer on glass surfaces compared to plastic. Approximately five percent to twenty-five percent of carriers will move around without symptoms or becoming sick. Studies have shown roughly eight hundred to fifteen hundred people a year will be diagnosed yearly with roughly one hundred to …show more content…
The first outer most layer is called the Dura mater (Latin – tough mother) lying closest to the skull. The dura mater has large blood vessels that track throughout it, then split into smaller vessels as they continue into the other Meninges. The next meninge would be the Arachnoid mater, which gives the impression of a spider web. This area protects the central nervous system within the skull. The third layer is called the Pia mater, this layer is the closet to the brain. Pia mater is a fibrous material that is firmly attached to the brain and spinal column. The meninges are filled with cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF). The CSF is clear in color and comprised of roughly 125mL of fluid at any given time covering the brain and spinal cord. The CSF is composed of water, protein, cells and sugars, which are vital for the nervous system to function
III. Types of Meningitis Diseas A. Viral Meningitis or aseptic meningitis are the most common type of meningitis. It is rarely fatal and usually resolve treatement. B. Batecrial Meningitis is a severe and consederes a potential Medical Emergency.
There are over 4000 people affected by bacterial meningitis and around 500 deaths from this in the US every year ("Meningitis."). 6000 cases of pneumococcal meningitis are reported in the US each year and meningococcal meningitis infects close to 2600 people in the US each year ("Meningitis."). 10-15% of these meningococcal cases are fatal, while an additional 10-15% lives with permanent
Meningitis can be destructive without proper understanding of what it is caused by. There are three types of meningitis- bacterial, fungal, and viral. Contrasting factors tend to arise during a comparison of them. One of the most notable areas that viral, fungal and bacterial meningitis differ in are their treatment ability. However, they have the same general affects on the human body. In any case, there are tests that doctors can utilize in order to discover if the meningitis is bacterial, fungal, or viral.
A person may not know he or she has meningitis right away. Many symptoms are analogous to the flu. These symptoms include a stiff neck, headache, fever, chills, nausea, light sensitivity, and possible changes in mental state (8). Even after a person recovers from meningitis, they can still suffer from long-term effects such as brain damage, kidney damage, loss of hearing, amputations, and scarring (6). To accurately diagnose meningitis, a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, is performed and tests are run on the cerebrospinal fluid
In 1887, the causative agent Neisseria Meningitidis, the meningococcus, was identified. Because of its potential to cause epidemics, Neisseria Meningitidis is one of the most important types. In 1805, when Meningococcal disease was first described, an outbreak swept through Geneva, Switzerland. Twelve subtypes of Neisseria Meningitidis have been identified. Four of them have been recognized to cause epidemics. Those four are: A, B, C, and W135. The capabilities differ of the pathogenicity, immunogenicity, and
Bacterial Meningitis affects the nervous system by causing inflammation of a trio of membranes known as the Meninges that are situated around the brain and spinal cord. It 's a disease that is slowly but surely being defeated worldwide with mortality rates falling from 464,000 deaths in 1990 to 303,000 in 2013[3]. Common symptoms throughout the period of an infection include; headaches, vomiting, fever, neck stiffness and an altered mental state. The severity of symptoms can depend on the species of bacteria that caused the infection. Due to recent medical advancements the rates of mortality have fallen considerably in the developed world, however meningitis is still prevalent in less economically developed countries. In this document I will be describing the various inner workings of the disease, but more specifically, it 's pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and preventative methods, furthermore I shall also be focusing more on the prevalence of the disease in the UK, as opposed to other locations. [1]
There are three types of pathogens that cause meningitis. The first type of pathogen is Haemophilus influenzae type b. It is an aerobic gram-negative bacteria, meaning they have relatively thin cell walls and can be resistant to antibiotic treatment. In 95% of invasive diseases are caused by type b. Before the introduction of a vaccine, it was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis most common in infants. The organism colonizes in the nasopharynx (the upper part of the throat behind the nose) and can sometimes invade the bloodstream and cause infection at a distant site.
If an individual shows signs and symptoms of meningitis, do not delay medical treatment. The main symptoms include fever, headache, and neck stiffness that makes it difficult to touch one’s chin to their chest. Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, sensitivity to bright light, poor appetite, and can even cause seizures or comas. Do wait for more symptoms to develop. Once meningitis enters the bloodstream, an individual will begin having abnormal skin color, stomach cramps, cold hands and feet, skin rash, muscle aches, joint pains, respiratory distress, and chills (Benaroch, R., MD. (2015, June 7). Act fast if these sign and symptoms occur. Bacterial Meningitis can kill an individual in just four hours after symptoms being to show. There are vaccines for bacterial Meningococcal Meningitis that can prevent the spread of this
Meningococcal meningitis: In Europe and the Americas, serogroups B and C are predominant while in Africa serogroups A and C are dominant; serogroup W-135 is pandemic and serogroup Y as the dominant strain of infection in the United States and Canada. There are 75-80% of patients acquiring this type of infection which is an infection of the brain and spinal cord with a mortality rate of 2-4%. Bacterial meningitis causes brain damage, hearing loss and learning disabilities to those that do survive. Meningococci shed their endotoxin, which damages tissues and activates the cytokine cascade (inflammation). This then allows them access to the subarachnoid space causing the blood-brain barrier to seep.
Meningococcal Meningitis is the infection and inflammation of the meninges. Newborns and infants are at greatest risk for contracting bacterial meningitis with Neisseria meningitides being the typical pathogen in the majority of children age 2 months through 12 years (London, Ladewig, Ball, Bindler, & Cowen, 2011). There is a mortality rate of 10% for children who develop meningitis from this particular bacterium (Muller, 2013).
Meningococcal Meningitis is a dangerous bacterial infection that has taken the lives of many people since it has been discovered. This particular form of meningitis can be detected by symptoms that someone experiences and can also sometimes be treated. There are now methods of prevention in order to try to avoid outbreaks from occurring. This blood borne pathogen is extremely dangerous and can greatly damage someone’s life.
The causes of meningitis vary depending on a persons age group. For newborns the causes are Group B listeria, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. For infants and children the causes are Streptococcus pneumonia, Neisseria meningitides, and Haemophilus influenza type B. The causes for adults are Nesseria meningitides, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Listeria monocytogenes. The incubation period for this disease is two to ten days. Their are many different types of meningitis such as bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges and affects the brain and spinal cord. There are five types of meningitis: viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious meningitis. The symptoms are somewhat similar, though the causes and recommended treatments differ. Bacterial meningitis is the most contagious type of meningitis. All types of meningitis can be very debilitating to your health if not treated promptly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014).
There are multiple different types of bacteria that can cause bacterial meningitis, which were discovered in the late 19th century. These bacteria’s are Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Haemophilus influenza. (1) Russian physician Vladimir Kernig and Polish physician Jozef Brudzinski both separately found other symptoms of meningitis this leading to the Kernig’s sign and the Brudzinski sign.
Meningococcal disease is a large concern in the medical field because it is unbiased towards the patients it infects. There has been limited success in trying to eliminate this disease. Antibiotics play a role in helping to treat patients with bacterial meningitis, and steroids have been tested to help reduce risk factors. Prevention has also become a key issue because meningitis can only be spread through direct contact with infected body fluid. The best prevention is to maintain clean hygiene. Vaccines are another way of preventing disease. However, there are multiple serogroups of meningitis that makes creating a universal vaccine extremely difficult. So far, there have only been two