Informative Essay On Meningitis

The discovery of Meningitis Diseas is one of the greatest acheivements of a scientist . Meningitis Diseas is either infectious (contangious) or noninfectious. Infectious Meningitis is classified as viral,bacterial,fungal and parasitic causing infections. C. Thesis Statement: Meningitis Diseas is a very rare infection of the brain D. Credibility Statement: 1. I was a survivor of Meningitis Diseas.

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

Meningitis, also known as spinal meningitis, is a viral or bacterial infection causing inflammation of the membranes, called meninges. Meninges act as a natural protective barrier that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. When the barrier is permeable, infections are able to transmit a disease in or through and cause serious or even fatal effects. There are different causes for the different categories of meningitis resulting in different symptoms and severities in each.

     3,000 Americans contract Bacterial Meningitis each year. Out of those 3,000, about 10 %, or 300 people, die from the infection. Approximately 125 of these cases occur on college campuses across the country. Out of these campus outbreaks, there is an annual average of 10 student deaths.

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 is a contagious infection of the cerebrospinal fluid and inflammation of the meninges, the nearby membrane that covers the spinal cord and brain. Both the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid serve as protectors

As the assignment’s need, I do the research on WebMD and National Institutes Health for the audience analysis on meningitis topic. To figure how they present their information to audiences, I write you this memo for an evaluation and comparison of two websites about their audiences and persuasive strategies they use.

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).

What is the definition? Why do people get bacterial meningitis? How do people get this disease? How is it transmitted?

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding your brain and spinal cord. The swelling associated to viral meningitis also has symptoms including headache, fever and a stiff neck. Most cases of meningitis are caused by a viral infection, bacterial and fungal infections also can lead to meningitis. Depending on the cause of the infection, meningitis can get better on its own in a couple of weeks, or it can be a life-threatening emergency. Which requires urgent antibiotic treatment.( http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/meningitis/basics/definition/con-20019713)

In 1906 it was first discovered that horses were a viable source to make antibodies that could be used against the meningococcal bacteria. This was then further looked into and made more progress by an American scientist by the name of Simon Flexner. Flexner’s further development of the antibodies from the horses aided in the attempt to lower the mortality rate from the meningococcal disease. (1) The first reported case of using penicillin against meningitis and effectively working was not until over forty years later. Georg Joachmann, in Germany, and Flexner, in America, were the firsts to successfully treat meningitis with introduction of the serum therapy for meningococcal meningitis.

Both of these diseases affect humans in diferent ways. The causative agent of meningitidis is Neisseria meningitidis. Some symptoms of this disease in infants start out as irrtability, the infant would not eat, and then vomiting which could lead to dehydration. (Todar, 15) As the meningitis get worse the infant may have apnea, seizures, disturbances in their motor skills, and even may develop into a coma. (Todar 15) The reason why meninigitis is so dangerous is because this disease makes the meninges in the spinal cord or brain become inflammed. In children and adults the symptoms start out with a headache then esclates to nausea, vomiting, skin rash and even photophobia which means being sensitive to the light.(Todar, 15) Also there are neurological problems that can form from meningitis. “..approximately one-third of patients have convulsions or coma when first seen by a physician.” States Kenneth Todar,PhD, in the article Pathogenic Neisseriae:gonorrhea and meningitis. Treatment for meningitidis is penicillin. (Todar, 18) One can get the meningoccal disease by association with infected individulas, nut they can prevent transmission by taking other medication such as antibiotic if the disease is in their home. (Todar,

Great discussion here. As Greg correctly pointed out, there is no right or wrong answer. But I have to say that I would be more tempted to read an article that leads with an impacting story or information, such as that healthy teenagers can succumb to meningococcal meningitis in a matter of days, or that meningitis is a potentially deadly disease that affects x number of people each year, than an article that leads with information about what a company has been doing to raise awareness about the disease. I believe that the risk that the disease imposes would resonate more with readers, especially mothers, leading them to want to learn more what to do to prevent it.

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