Essay on Pathophysiology of Meningitis and Encephalitis

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

Once N. meningitidis has encountered a healthy host it uses its type IV pilus to protrude from the capsule and bind epithelial cells and erythrocytes within the mucosal surface. The pili also generate what is known as a twitch motility which allows the bacterium to pass the epithelial layer and invade the host.

Encephalitis is a neurological disorder that results in the inflammation of the brain and sometimes the meninges. It is usually due to a viral infection. Most often arboviruses cause encephalitis, by transference via mosquitos to humans and animals. When bitten by an infected mosquito the virus moves from the mosquito into the person’s blood, it then reaches the brain and spinal cord, it multiplies within the central nervous system thus inflaming and damaging nerve cells, this interferes with signals from the brain to the rest of the body. The herpes simplex virus type one can commonly cause encephalitis. HIV has also been noted as an increasing cause of encephalitis. Viral infections like: mumps, chicken pox and measles can also cause encephalitis, but rarely.

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.

Encephalitis literally means an inflammation of the brain, but it usually refers to brain inflammation caused by a virus. It may also be called “acute viral encephalitis or aseptic encephalitis';. Encephalitis is an infectious disease of the Central Nervous System characterized by pathologic changes in both the gray and white matter of the spinal cord and brain. It may be due to specific disease entity such as rabies or an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus), or it may occur as a sequela of influenza, measles, German measles, chicken pox, herpes virus infection, small pox, vaccinia, or other diseases. The specific viruses involved may vary. Exposure can also occur through insect bites, food or drink, or skin

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.

The infection can also be spread through oral secretion. Kissing, coughing, sharing makeup, sharing utensils, and drinking out of the same straw as an infected person are all ways that The majority of outbreaks occur in the winter and spring when school is in session. One-third of all Bacterial Meningitis outbreaks between 1991 and 1996 occurred in schools or universities.

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

Only a minority of carried meningococci are harmful. Infection is caused when the bacteria, for reasons that are not currently understood, move from the back of the throat into the bloodstream and multiply rapidly. Once in the bloodstream, these bacteria can cause septicaemia and, in many cases, infect the meninges and cause

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

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

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).