Infectious Disease: Meningitis Essay

Bacterial meningitis is the swelling of the meninges. In the back of the brain, there are three protective membranes called the meninges (Mandal). During bacterial meningitis, bacteria invade the brain. This causes the immune system to enter and try to stop the disease (Mandal). In doing so, the meninges swell to stop the spread the virus, but this unfortunately causes damage to the brain and spinal area (Mandal). A person would get bacterial meningitis if their body was invaded by some of the germs that can cause it.

Meningococcal disease is a disease that can be found worldwide. Meningococcal disease refers to any disease or illness that is caused by the type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitides, also called meningococcus (Meningococcal disease, 2015). The first documented outbreak was over two hundred years ago in Geneva in 1805 which circulated rapidly and killed thirty three people. The first case ever recorded in America was in 1806 in Medford, Massachusetts (Fredericks, n.d.). A European physician, Professor A Weichselbaum, discovered the cause of the mysterious cerebro-spinal meningitis illness in 1887 and Penicillin was the first antibiotic used to fight the disease. In 1978 the first

Neisseria meningitidis is a fastidious, aerobic, and encapsulated gram-negative diplococcus which infects humans via droplet transmission to and from mucosal surfaces in the nasopharyngeal region. Only humans can be infected with N. meningitidis and the disease manifests in children under two years of age and in young adults. N. meningitidis can be found as normal regional flora of the nasopharynx in some individuals, but when it causes infection leads to meningitis and occasionally septicaemia. The major symptoms of N. meningitidis infection include a stiff neck, high fever, photophobia, confusion, cephalgia and emesis. If the patient’s condition has worsened causing sepsis, they can present with a haemorrhagic rash which is indicative of

•     Meningitis is a dangerous infection that can cause the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord to swell. There are two types of Meningitis. The most common type of Meningitis is caused by a virus. Viral

Meningitis is a serious infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by meningococcal disease, which is contracted by 1,000 to 2,600 people yearly in the United States. Meningococcal disease is also serious, with one in ten cases leading to

Meningitis and encephalitis are infections that affect the brain. The two differences between them is observed in the region of the brain they infect. Both infections cause inflammation and swelling of the brain and can trigger serious effects or even death.

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.

First, the patient would have a fever, headache, or vomiting just as the flu. Then, he would think that it is just the flu and treat it that way according to his previous knowledge. After that, the symptoms and the disease are going to get worse, more severe, and more developed because of the ignorance and the lack of awareness about the only sign that differs meningitis and flu from each other. However, the patient at this moment would go to the doctor seeking the treatment, but it is too late (1). Also, some students ignore the meningitis vaccines and in light of this fact the chances of getting meningitis are high. “Up to a quarter of students carry the bacteria that can cause meningitis compared to one in ten of the general population." (2). Stress also play a critical role besides these two affecters on the chances of getting

Viral meningitis is more common, but not nearly as severe (8). It is hardly ever fatal and mostly caused by enteroviruses. Other viruses can induce a person to contract viral meningitis. These include: mumps, herpes, measles, and varicella-zoster. Even an infection from a mosquito bite could potentially turn into a case of viral meningitis (4)! Fungal meningitis, which can also be deadly, is mostly caused by Cryptococcus and Candida. The people affected with fungal meningitis are mostly those who have an inadequate immune system (3).

Some bacteria that cause meningitis can also cause septicaemia. Septicaemia is caused by bacteria multiplying in the bloodstream. The bacteria release toxins that damage the walls of the blood vessels, causing them to leak. The immune system is unable to counteract these toxins.

Infectious meningitis may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or toxins (McCance, 2014). There is a type of meningitis that does not have an identifiable pathogen; this type is called aseptic meningitis. Typical symptoms for meningitis are sudden high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, vomiting or nausea with headache, confusion or difficulty concentrating, seizures, sleepiness or difficulty waking up, sensitivity to light, lack of interest in drinking and eating, and skin rash (Mayo Clinic, 2013). There are three main types of meningitis, each having their own individual

N. meningitides specifically is carried in nasal mucosa and secretions and concentrates in the nasopharynx of those it will infect (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010). Once the offending bacteria reach the central nervous system (CNS), it replicates and undergoes lysis, which releases endotoxins (Porth & Matfin, 2009). These cell

Cancer causes many deaths across the globe, in the US alone about twenty-five percent of all people who die, die from cancer. Mutations of DNA, can lead to cancer in healthy cells. Once one cell mutates, if it does not die it will replicate itself causing spread of cancer cells (“Cancer”). Harris explains, “Meningitis, is a disease that affects the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.” Meninges are known as the tissues that surround the brain and spin (“Carcinomatous Meningitis”). As the article “Carcinomatous Meningitis” defines so well, “Carcinomatous meningitis means there is inflammation of the covering of the brain, caused by cancer. It is an uncommon condition caused by cancer cells getting into the thin layers of body

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

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