DISEASE 1: Meningococcal Disease
1.0 Background/Causes:
A fatal microbial disease, commonly known as Meningococcal meningitis, can be scientifically referred to as any illness caused by the infectious Neisseria meningitidis bacteria. (SEE APPENDIX 3.0) The highest extended disease rate is located within the belt of sub-Saharan Africa, stretching within twenty-six countries from Senegal to Ethiopia. The infectious Meningococcal bacterium are transmitted through person to person contact; spread by exchanging respiratory and throat secretions, such as saliva or mucus, during intimate or neighbouring contact. These bacteria do not hold any animal reservoir and can only be transmitted from humans. Approximately one in ten people unknowingly have
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In order to be infested with Neisseria meningitidis, close prolonged contact from one person to the other must be present from anywhere between a two and ten day incubation period. (World Health Organisation, 2015.) Most of the consistently occurring symptoms of the disease include sensitivity to light, heavy breathing, cold chills and shivers, confusion, blood rashes, headaches, vomiting, high fevers and a stiff neck. (SEE APPENDIX 2.0) Initial diagnosis of Meningococcal meningitis is made by a clinical examination, and can be confirmed by growing the bacteria in specimens of spinal fluid or blood by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Although in most cases the disease is recognised during early stages, adequate treatment leads to the death of 5-10% of patients typically after twenty -four to forty-eight hours of experiencing symptoms. (World Health Organisation, 2015.) In serious cases, this bacterial meningitis can result in learning disabilities, hearing loss or severe damage to the blood stream, brain and spinal cord. Severe brain damage and blood poisoning can lead to a traumatic death, whilst serious spinal cord injuries leave victims paralysed. This affects approximately 10-20% of all survivors. (Disease Control,
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.
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
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
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 video addressed meningococcal bacteria and its effects on individuals who have contracted the disease. The PBS NOVA program, “The Killer Disease,” is a fast spreading bacterial infection which affects either the spinal cord, spinal cord and brain, or brain with the bacteria. When discovered and treated, the pace and quickness of the spread of the disease after it has begun “the beginning of the end” in terms of the damage to body or taking of life.
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
The majority of people do not know how meningitis develops among students, how it can spread, and how vaccinations and awareness affect the chances of catching this disease. The first paragraph is about the number of students affected each year and the process of the development of that numbers between 1991-1999. The second paragraph is about the lack of awareness and how it affects the chances of getting meningitis. Also, it will talk about the effect of meningitis vaccinations on these chances. The third paragraph is about the stress between students and how it affects the immune system. Meningitis is one of the most serious and spreadable diseases on college campuses and dormitories because of the number of students that are affected each year, ignorance of awareness about meningitis symptoms and vaccinations, and the lack of knowledge concerning the correlation between college stress and disease control that weakens the immune system.
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)
Rouphael N, Stephens S (2015, March 4) Neisseria meningitidis: Biology, Microbiology and Epidemiology Retrieved from
Neisseria meningitides is a bacteria that causes meningoccal disease. It is aerobic, Gram-negative bacteria that causes serious, sometimes fatal, infection
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).
Neisseria meningitidis is the bacterium that causes the disease Meningococcal meningitis and septicemia. This bacterium is described as being gram-negative with a diplococci structure, meaning that there is very little to no peptidoglycan in its cell wall and is made up of many spherical-shaped bacteria pushed against each other. Neisseria meningitidis is an immobile bacterium and is transferred between people through direct contact . It is also described as being an aerobic bacterium, meaning that it is capable of using oxygen for energy . (Samantha Bingen, 2008).
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