Meningitis Research Paper

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.

      Symptoms of meningitis are similar to those of the flu and are therefore easy to overlook. People with meningitis complain of symptoms such as headaches, fevers, stiff necks, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light. Some people develop a rash. Meningitis, if left untreated can spread quickly. It can spread throughout your entire body, and eventually lead to death within mere days, hours, of getting infected. It is important to seek treatment as soon as you think you might have 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

A person may not know he or she has meningitis right away. Many symptoms are analogous to the flu. These symptoms include a stiff neck, headache, fever, chills, nausea, light sensitivity, and possible changes in mental state (8). Even after a person recovers from meningitis, they can still suffer from long-term effects such as brain damage, kidney damage, loss of hearing, amputations, and scarring (6). To accurately diagnose meningitis, a lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, is performed and tests are run on the cerebrospinal fluid

Bacterial Meningitis affects the nervous system by causing inflammation of a trio of membranes known as the Meninges that are situated around the brain and spinal cord. It 's a disease that is slowly but surely being defeated worldwide with mortality rates falling from 464,000 deaths in 1990 to 303,000 in 2013[3]. Common symptoms throughout the period of an infection include; headaches, vomiting, fever, neck stiffness and an altered mental state. The severity of symptoms can depend on the species of bacteria that caused the infection. Due to recent medical advancements the rates of mortality have fallen considerably in the developed world, however meningitis is still prevalent in less economically developed countries. In this document I will be describing the various inner workings of the disease, but more specifically, it 's pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and preventative methods, furthermore I shall also be focusing more on the prevalence of the disease in the UK, as opposed to other locations. [1]

This condition is most commonly caused by a viral infection (less threatening), although bacteria and fungal infections as well as toxins or parasites can also lead to meningitis (McCance & Huether, 609). The type of treatment depends on the causative agent; meningitis may go away on its own or require treatment with antibiotics. Clinical manifestations of meningitis, according to the textbook are as follows: inflammation and irritation- generalized meningeal signs, throbbing headache, photophobia (light sensitivity); local tissue dysfunction- cranial nerve palsies, focal neurologic deficits (hemiparesis/hemiplegia, ataxia), and seizures; mass effect- decreased level of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, and increased intracranial pressure; and lastly, vascular compromise (McCance and Huether, 612). Systematic effects of this condition are increased intracranial pressure (ICP), disruption of the blood brain barrier (a defense mechanism) which can exacerbate infection, interference or blockage of CSF (cerebral spinal fluid), cerebral edema, intracranial hypertension and decreased cranial blood flow. If the condition gets too serious, paralysis, hearing loss, ataxia (loss of muscle coordination, mainly in the extremities), cerebral atrophy, and hydrocephalus (“water

The causes of meningitis vary depending on a persons age group. For newborns the causes are Group B listeria, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. For infants and children the causes are Streptococcus pneumonia, Neisseria meningitides, and Haemophilus influenza type B. The causes for adults are Nesseria meningitides, Streptococcus pneumonia, and Listeria monocytogenes. The incubation period for this disease is two to ten days. Their are many different types of meningitis such as bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-

Noninfectious meningitis is most common in people with weakened immune systems and it is not contagious. It can be

The obvious signs of meningitis include sudden fever, severe headaches, sensitivity to bright light, nausea, vomiting, double vision, trouble with balance, and a stiff neck. Encephalitis can be characterized by seizures, fever, change in behavior, and related neurological signs. Meningitis and Encephalitis can occur in all ages. When dealing with an infant, important signs to watch for include fever, lethargy, vomiting, body stiffness, unusual irritability, and a full or bulging fontanel.

There are many similarities between encephalitis and meningitis. First, both encephalitis and meningitis cause inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis affects the nervous system and meningitis does too. Second, encephalitis and meningitis have the same general symptoms. For example, the symptoms of encephalitis and meningitis are high fever, headache, and decreasing in concentration. Like encephalitis, meningitis is caused by a viral infection. People who are at risk of getting encephalitis have weakened immune systems, just like people who are at risk of getting meningitis do. The treatment of encephalitis the same as meningitis. It depends on the bacteria that causes them, but in general, they

Anyone can get meningitis at any point in their life. However, children between 1 month and two years old, adults with alcohol problem or chronic ear and nose infections, individuals with sickle cell disease, kidney failure or college students (16-23 years old), and people in military are more likely to get bacterial

Enteroviruses are present in the fetus, mucus, and saliva of infected people (Bennington 3). The viruses or organisms reach the meninges from foci in the body via blood or lymph, through trauma, or from adjacent bony structures such as the sinuses (Thomas 1027). Meningitis has harmful symptoms such as irregular fever, loss appetite, intense headache, constipation, intolerance to light and sound, contacted pupils, delirium, retraction of head, convulsion, and coma (Thomas 1027). Bacterial meningitis requires an individual to be hospitalized. Early diagnosis and treatment will prevent brain damage and even death. Bacterial meningitis is threated with strict antibiotic therapy, such as ampicillin, penicillin G, Chloramphenicol, kanamycin, and gentamicin following strict isolation techniques (Thomas 1027). Those are the drugs of choice if the organisms susceptible. Supportive symptomatic therapy is also indicative (1027). According to the Taber' Cyclopedia Medical Dictionary, there must be a dark, quiet atmosphere, analgesic must be applied, and a cool compression to forehead

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 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