Causes And Treatment Of Meningococcal Meningitis

The disease give off a toxin in the life cycle of bacteria after it life span has ended and it has quickly multiplied. The toxin which is emitted is so deadly, it rapidly kills tissues surrounding the areas where the highest concentrations of the bacteria is located. Oddly, when the bacteria is treated with an antibiotic, it produces more toxin because a greater number of bacteria are being killed. Though historically the meningococcal disease has been known to only attack and the very young. There are now more and more cases of the disease appearing in the “young adult” crowd. These would be at the roughly college age.

Meningococcal Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective coverings of brain and spinal cord called the meninges. Meningococcal Meningitis is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria (Theobald, M, 2014). There are five forms of meningitis, bacterial being the most fatal. The other form types are viral, parasitic, fungal, and non-infectious. Meningococcal Meningitis can also be caused by other bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, and, Listeria monocytogenes (CDC, 2016). Without any treatment of meningitis, it can spread into the blood and cause sepsis--when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection, trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). Meningitis is usually caused as a secondary infection when it makes its way into the central nervous

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).

Bacterial meningitis is the most common form of meningitis. Approximately 80% of all meningitis associated cases are bacterial, the disease is the critical reason for increasing morbidity rates in young children under the age group of one year. In the last 20 years (1991–2010) close to one million suspected meningitis cases were reported in the UK and in the US. [8] [5] The ‘meninges’ is the name for the three membranes that envelope the brain and cord (the central nervous system). Bacterial meningitis is caused by three different bacteria’s: Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, and the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. The bacteria spreads across the spinal cord and optic nerves, within the bacteria it 's fluid contents, the cerebrospinal fluid. The excessive manifestation of bacteria and their toxins within these areas, results in an inflammation of the cranial or spinal structures. This inflammation will consequence in severe damage to the nervous system and brain structures unless treated. Due to the nature of the meninges and the cerebrospinal fluid, an infection of any area of the system can rapidly spread to the rest of the system In this review I will discuss the epidemiology and pathogenesis of bacterial meningitis in young children and its subsequent clinical diagnosis of effective vaccines.[2]

It begins as minor flu symptoms. But then things seem to never get any better. As symptoms become more severe, a person is advised to go see a doctor. It turns out the individual did not have the flu. It was something far worse, something more treacherous, something more contagious, something chilling, something life-threatening. This disease is known as bacterial meningitis. It is possibly a college student’s worst nightmare, and a disease that students should be well informed about. But while the bacterial infection is rather rare, it’s also terminal, killing 10 to 12 percent of those it infects, sometimes within hours. The disease attacks and closes up major organs and prevents blood from circulating to limbs, causing tissue to die.

Meningitis can be life - threatening because of the inflammation’s proximity to the brain and spinal cord; therefore, the condition is classified as a medical emergency.

Some types of bacterial meningitis can be prevented through immunizations. There are vaccines that protect against pneumococcus, meningococcus, and Hib, all of which cause meningitis. Vaccinations are key to the prevention of meningitis. See your doctor to make sure your vaccinations, and those of your children, are up-to-date.

An acute disease which is referred to any potentially disease that is caused by the type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis is named as meningococcal disease. This is a life threatening infection which may end in death. (Nadel et al.,2006, MacNiel et al., 2011) The first meningococcal disease was reported before 5 centuries. Meningococcal diseases are often severe and serious that present in meningitis 50% of cases and 40% septicemia (Gabuttiet et al., 2015). Some infected people may have one or both of these diseases. Both of them are occurring and spreading rapidly. Neisseria meningitidis is hosted in humans because they are the only reservoir. Rare forms of the disease including lung infection, joint infection and infection of the

Every year, approximately 600 to 1,000 people are diagnosed from meningococcal disease in the U.S, and only 15 percent die of people who get meningitis (Statistics). However, after surviving from meningococcal disease, patients have high risks that they will have to live with permanent disabilities. Nowadays, meningitis becomes a rare condition in the U.S. because of the improvement of the vaccine.

Meningitis is inflammation of the meninges of the brain and/or spinal cord. There are five types of meningitis: bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious. Meningitis is more often seen in children and acute bacterial meningitis can be fatal if not treated in the early stages. Five types of pathogens - E. coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Haemophilus influenza type b and group b streptococcus - have previously been reported as the top causes of meningitis. From January 2012 through December 2015, 3mL samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 179 children (120 males, 59 females) ranging in age from three days old to 12 years old, with acute bacterial meningitis, were tested and studied for antibiotic susceptibilities of CSF pathogens.

There are three different types of meningitis; viral, fungal, and bacterial meningitis. Although not as common as viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis is more likely to leave individuals with permanent disabilities. In children, disabilities can range from deafness, hearing loss, and cerebral palsy? the most common after effects. And in adults, septic shock, brain swelling, and hydrocephalus are most likely to occur if the disease advances without treatment within a sufficient time period. The three main bacteria responsible for bacterial meningitis are streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilus influenza type B (Hib), and neisseria meningitidis.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, membranes that surround the brain. This can extend as far as infecting the cerebral spinal fluid on top of causing the tissue to swell. Meningitis comes in two major forms; bacterially and virally. However, having bacterial meningitis is much more severe than viral meningitis. There is a lot more danger in having a bacterial infection within the brain than a viral infection within the brain. What makes bacterial meningitis so lethal is that “even when the disease is diagnosed early and adequate treatment is started, 5% to 10% of patients die, typically within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. Left untreated, up to 50% of cases may die, (6) or there

Then this allows the bacteria to cross through the mucous membrane and enter the blood stream. With meningococcal bacteria in the blood stream they become alive and multiply and release endotoxin. The body immune system will push neutrophils and white blood cells to fight the bacteria. However, with meningococcal bacteria multiplying faster than the first line of defense can fight the response of the immune system will show signs of high temperature, drowsiness, and feeling sick and unwell. When the meningococcal bacteria travel through the blood stream they release cytotoxic inflammatory agents and bacterial toxins to break down the filtering mechanism that help filter certain substance called the blood brain barrier (Huether, S., 2012) with the toxin breaking through the blood brain barrier then the blood vessels in the linings of the brain will get damaged. When that happens, it allows the bacteria to break through and infect the cerebrospinal fluid, and meninges become inflamed and cause pressure around the brain that leads to nerve damage. Inflamed blood vessels and thrombi (blood clots formed within blood vessels) can disrupt blood flow can lead into chronic injury or death.

According to the Center of Disease Control, meningitis can develop in response to a number various causes especially by both a virus and bacterial infection. Yet, it can also occur from certain drugs, physical injuries and also various forms of cancer. Mayo Clinic Staff states that, “Acute bacterial meningitis usually occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream and migrate to the brain and spinal cord. But it can also occur when bacteria directly invade the meninges, as a result of an ear or sinus infection, or a skull fracture, or rarely, after some surgeries”. There are also various strains of bacterial meningitis, the most common include streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), haemophilus influenzae (haemophilus), and listeria monocytogenes (listeria) (Meningitis Directory).

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