5 Important Things to Know About Meningococcal Meningitis
Meningococcal Meningitis is a serious illness that infects the thin lining, which encircles the spinal cord and brain. It could also affect the bloodstream (bacteremia or septicemia). It is a bacterial form of meningitis that spreads through transmission of respiratory droplets, such as coughing, sneezing, spiting, and kissing. This could only affect humans as no animal has been reported of the condition. The bacteria can be carried through the throat at certain situations.
The Epidemic
Back in early 2010, there has been massive campaigns for preventive immunization. World Health Organization accounted for an estimated 80-85% of Group A meningococcus. All of these cases were found in the epidemic belt
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It can be treated. We mentioned earlier that there is a vaccine available for this type of disease. Nevertheless, antibiotics are also known to treat this illness. WHO said that a range of antibiotics are available and can cure the bacterial infection. These antibiotics include ceftriaxone, ampicillin, penicillin, and chloramphenicol. Meningococcal Meningitis can be fatal - that’s why it should be treated as an emergency all the time. A person who’s suffering the symptoms should be admitted to a hospital but isolation is not that necessary. As soon as antibiotics are available, it should be given to the infected person immediately.
This disease happens in little clusters throughout the world. The danger lies in being exposed to the very micro organism that causes it. Adults and kids who have a recent infection in the upper respiratory tract should also take better caution. Health organizations continue to promote various strategies to prepare people, prevent the disease, and treat the illness. Travellers and generally everyone, should be aware of this condition. Be sure not to take any symptoms stated lightly. As much as possible, consult your local physician whenever you feel ill and
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
5. Describe in detail the mode of action of this antibiotic and how it would be effective in treating the microbe causing bacterial meningitis. The mode of action would be to treat for 3 to 7 days of intravenous or intramuscular with penicillin or ceftriaxone. This can also be treated with other antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, meropenem and fluoroquinolones. A person is still infectious as long as menigococci is present in oral or respiratory secretions or if they have been on effective antibiotic treatments for 24
There is a controversial issue in regards to immigration. Some believe that immigration needs to be held at a controlled limit, and there needs to be stricter laws placed. Others believe that immigration has made America what is it today, and one should not be stopped for wanting to peruse a better life. I believe that immigrants should be allowed into America because they provide a major positive impact on the economy and that
In the article “Hi-Tech Cheating”, it is discussed that cell phones, in the hands of most teenagers today, make cheating during school more accessible. The Benenson Strategy Group found that more than half of the students they interviewed, used the web to cheat. The Benenson Strategy Group also interviewed parents with children in school, and only 3% admitted that their child had used a cell phone to cheat in school (Hi-Tech Cheating, 2008, pg.3). Some examples of how students cheat in school with the use of their cell phones include storing info, texting their friends for answers, taking pictures of their test for a friend, and lastly search the web for answers during a test (Hi-Tech Cheating, 2008, pg.4). For the last examples stated, half
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.
Ten to fifteen percent of cases are fatal. Ten to fifteen percent of patients who recover have permanent hearing loss, mental retardation, loss of limbs, brain damage, or learning disability in ten to twenty percent of survivors. (WHO, 2004) The groups at risk for this disease include the general population, infants and young children, refugees, household contacts of case patients, military recruits, college freshmen who live in dormitories, people exposed to firsthand and secondhand smoke, and microbiologists who work with isolates of Neisseria Meningitidis. (CDC, 2004)
And for those who are still afraid of vaccinated, the CDC, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Institute of Medicine (IOM), American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), UNICEF, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), World Health Organization (WHO), Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Paediatric Society, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have all approved the current meningitis vaccine. This is why I urge you, fellow representatives, to vote with me in affirmation of the
Treatment for infected people involve antibiotics, steroids, intensive care, and droplet precautions. Prophylactic antibiotics are usually given to prevent the spread of the disease to those in close contact of the infected people.
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
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).
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.
My 4-6 grade years were very different from a regular kids 4-6 grade. Most kids were all in the same school with all their friends and same teachers but me I was moving from school to school. It wasn’t really bad because I knew people at each school I went to but things would have been better if I stayed in one school with all my friends and didn’t always have to make new friends and meet new teachers etc.
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
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.
Several vaccines are available to immunize against meningococcus, including polysaccharide and conjugate vaccine technologies. Available vaccines include the tetravalent vaccine, which protects against