Spinal Meningitis

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,

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.

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

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

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]

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).

Meningitis started in 1805,in Switzerland. There were numerous outbreaks,later showing up in the U.S the following year.In 1887,Anton Weichselbaum discovered and proved that bacteria is another way that can cause meningitis.20 years later,SimonFlexner created a medicine made up of horse blood.Later a more helpful antibotiacs was found in the late mid-1940’s by a group of doctors called pennicillin ,which is a

Bacterial Meningitis is a very serious illness and it needs to be taken care of immediately or it could result in death. The bacteria that cause this condition are meningococci, pneumococci and haemophilus

Different antibiotics such as penicillin, ampicillin, ceftriaxone and chloramphenicol help to treat bacterial meningitis. Because meningitis can be fatal admission to a hospital may be necessary. When it comes to viral meningitis antibiotics don’t help but patient usually recovers on their own within 7 to 10 days. Treatment should begin immediately. The type of antibiotic depends on the type of causative agent and also patient’s tolerance to the drug (allergies change the type of treatment). Meningitis is commonly treated with sulfonamides, where trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole work together in order to inhibit bacterial synthesis of tetrahydrofolic acid. Also used to treat meningitis are for example tetracyclines that work by inhibiting protein synthesis and stopping bacterial growth. Another type of treatment is using carbapenems that bind to penicillin-binding proteins and therefore inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis.

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.

Instead, there are some vaccines made to protect you against different types of meningococcal meningitis. The vaccines are generally recommended for people aged 11 to 18 years. People aged 19 to 21 who are enrolling in college should also get vaccinated. Your doctor may recommend a vaccine in some other cases. For instant, if you’re planning to travel to a part of the world where meningococcal meningitis is regularly found, you may be advised to get a vaccine first. Your doctor might also suggest the vaccine if you’ve had your spleen removed or if you have a chronic illness. If he is not treated, he symptoms will progressively worsen until he developed shock and dies.

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