Meningitis In College Essay

Since Bacterial Meningitis is most severe, Sue was tested being the first patient with those symptoms. When the results came back, Sue showed positive for Bacterial Meningitis. Because of Sue’s results, the patients who came in contact with her were tested immediately. Jill, who rooms with Sue came up positive for Bacterial Meningitis. Anthony had no contact with Sue or Jill aside from covering one of their soccer games but is good friends with Maria who is always in Sue and Jill’s dorm. Maria came back positive, but thankfully Anthony was negative. Sue, Jill, Maria, and Marco were positive out of the nine for Bacterial Meningitis. From the ELISA tests we found that Sue had the highest concentration of the meningitis antigen. So we believe that the path of infection starts with her. Jill had the second highest,then Maria, then Marco. The second infection diagnosed was the Influenza B virus. Both Arnie and Anthony had the presence of the virus in their bloodstream. A third infection was found called, Mononucleosis. Wanda was diagnosed with mono due to her symptoms and a BLAST test on her blood. Alvin shares the same mononucleosis symptoms as well, but he refused to be tested. Only Maggie was diagnosed with Strep which was found in her blood using a

The article summarises a new programme that will be given to newborn babies against meningitis B. Meningitis is an infection of the membrane which surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This can affect anyone but young children are more vulnerable to the infection. Some symptoms that have been shown from the infection are high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, misperception, sickness and headaches.

In fact, a specific region of Africa has been dubbed the meningitis belt. Those living in this sub-Saharan region stretching from Senegal to Gambia are at risk for the lethal epidemics that ravage the land during most dry seasons ("PATH."). Bacterial meningitis works in a very specific way, with quite a few symptoms; however, adequate treatments and vaccines have been developed.

Africa has the highest incidence of meningococcal disease, tuberculosis, and malaria because of overcrowding in many villages. There is an area in sub-Saharan Africa called the Meningitis Belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia with over 20,000 reported cases and 2,000 deaths every year (Healthgrades editorial staff, 2015). During the dry season in Africa, from December through June, meningitis epidemics occur with the three major areas infected being Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Chad. The most recent outbreak of the meningococcal disease reported in the United States occurred as meningitis in the dorms at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Princeton University in New Jersey in December of 2013 (Doheny, 2013). When the outbreak occurred at these two universities it was caused from serotype B of the disease and resulted in one death. Since the current meningococcal vaccine does not cover the serotype B bacteria the FDA allowed the use of a special vaccine from New Zealand to treat the outbreaks (Burrell, 2015). One in five US teens have not had their first recommended dose of meningococcal vaccine and for those who have had the first dose of the vaccine,

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

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.

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.

Children are more vulnerable to diseases at this age. There immune systems aren't as strong as an adults, making them more susceptible to meningitis than someone older.Children without the vaccine are also at more risk as they enter middle and high school because of their proximity to other students and their germs. Plus, the risk of getting a negative reaction to a vaccine are about one in 7 hundred thousand to one in a million. Although there is a risk of a negative reaction, there is a higher risk of getting meningitis without a vaccine, which can lead to all of the ailments mentioned previous. Also, according to meningitis.org, getting the vaccine is the best way to prevent getting meningitis.

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

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

Meningococci are spread through coughing, sneezing and intimate kissing - approximately 10% of the general population carry meningococcal bacteria harmlessly in the back of their throats at any one time. This natural carriage is, therefore, relatively common and helps develop immunity.

N. meningitides bacterium responsible for outbreaks in densely populated areas such as childcare centers, boarding schools, or college living areas (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010). These outbreaks are most common in winter and spring months when risk factors like upper respiratory infections are more likely (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010). Immunosuppression must be present for this pathogen to invade. Other risk factors for meningitis are otitis media (middle ear infection), mastoiditis (mastoid bone infection) (Smeltzer, Bare, Hinkle, & Cheever, 2010), systemic sepsis, sinusitis (sinus infection), basilar skull fractures, and the very young and the very old (Porth & Matfin, 2009).

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.

Even one drop of nasal fluid can be enough to make another person ill if the drop of fluid makes contact. This disease is easily spread through direct and indirect contact, whether it is through kissing or sharing eating utensils. The easiest way to protect against meningitis is to stay away from infected people and not to share utensils or other personal objects with other people. Also, good hygiene is extremely

Encephalitis is a condition caused by viruses which cause the brain to become inflamed. There are two types of encephalitis one is called primary because the viruses affect the brain itself. Secondary is the viruses travel from some other part of the body that has been affect to the brain. When the virus reaches the brain it begins to multiply causing inflammation. The brain’s white matter can be destroyed. This destruction causes cell death, hemorrhage and edema. The edema begins to compress the blood vessels this causes intracranial pressure (Mayo Clinic, 2011).