The Meningoccal Infection

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.

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

Rouphael N, Stephens S (2015, March 4) Neisseria meningitidis: Biology, Microbiology and Epidemiology Retrieved from

5. Describe in detail the mode of action of this antibiotic and how it would be effective in treating the microbe causing bacterial meningitis. The mode of action would be to treat for 3 to 7 days of intravenous or intramuscular with penicillin or ceftriaxone. This can also be treated with other antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, meropenem and fluoroquinolones. A person is still infectious as long as menigococci is present in oral or respiratory secretions or if they have been on effective antibiotic treatments for 24

There are thirteen serogroup classifications of Neisseria meningitidis that fall under the genus Neisseria which are closely related to Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Of the thirteen serogroups - A, B, C, D, 29E, H, I K, L, W-135, X, Y, and Z only three genetic strains have been sequenced: Z2491 from serogroup A, MC58 from serogroup B and FAM18 from serogroup C and all three of those strains contain a single circular chromosome that has a GC pair content of 51%. Several strains of this bacteria contain pili which enhances their pathogenicity giving them the purpose to adhere to surfaces, move, and transform their genetics. N. meningitidis are aerobic bacteria containing high catalase and oxidase activity. The reason for a high catalase allows them to compensate for oxidative damage in a low-pressure oxygen environment for their lack of a superoxide dismutase enzyme. Neisseria meningitidis is characterized as a parasitic, aerobic, gram-negative diplococcus that is non-endospore with a niche in the human nasopharyngeal. Its genetics consists of a surface polysaccharide capsule. In addition, their morphological colonies tend to appear smooth, moist and gleaming. The bacterium can produce gamma-glutamylamino-peptidase and typically grow on plates with

Meningitis is an infectious disease that can be found within the indigenous Australian community. Incidence and prevalence, when regarding an infectious agent or disease, utilizes measurements to determine new cases and existing cases of a disease process or infectious condition. Mathematical equations are utilized in order to determine and compare the survival or recovery, and duration of diseases ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011).The incidence and prevalence of meningitis in the indigenous Australian people, is higher in the rural areas then in the larger regions of Australia due to lack of access to vaccinations, and compliance with treatment. As noted via the meningococcal Australia INC

“College Student Dies of Fulminant Bacterial Meningitis Strain from Princeton Outbreak 24 Hours After Onset of Symptoms.” In a heartbeat, Dr. Annaliesa Anderson felt a sinking vexation, like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an endless circle of ripples. Using this fuel, she conquered Meningitis B with the vaccine Trumenba. As Chief Scientific Officer for Bacterial Vaccines at Pfizer Inc., living in New Jersey, Dr. Annaliesa Anderson has traveled the globe, piloting the bacterial vaccine programs, collaborating with different companies to accelerate development processes, and has also mobilized government committees to dispense the vaccines to save lives. Her groundbreaking work has inspired me, and she relayed the knowledge of

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,

people who are confirmed with meningitis infection must be quickly hospitalized for cure with antibiotics .as this infection spreads very quickly so the only dosage of intramuscular antibiotics is mostly given in the initial stages prior to hospitalization .3rd generation cephalosporin’s like cefotaxime and cefriaxone must be employed to cure a doubted or culture-confirmed meningococcal

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).

Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, caused by an infection. Meningitis is most often caused by a viral infection. However, meningitis can also be caused by bacterial infections, fungal infections, chemical reactions, drug allergies, some types of cancer, and inflammatory diseases. Some of the following bacteria may cause meningitis: Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitides, and Listeria monocytogenes. As stated in its name, bacterial meningitis, requires a bacterium for and individual to contract the disease. The bacteria are spread through respiratory and throat excretions such as saliva. Saliva can be exchanged through kissing or coughing.

While the scarlet fever study was local not nation wide so did the WHO grades II and III intracranial meningiomas study, which also did not view cases in other countries. The WHO study was limited to the population of the United States. Whereas the Scarlet Fever study was limited to one city in South Korea. Instead the study was focused on the city with the highest incidence and the population of the people with the disease were not indicated by sex, age nor ethnicity. With the WHO study, understanding of the people most common to have grades II and III base on race, sex and age is determined and clear. With such details screening for such tumor can be determined based on one’s race, sex, ethnicity and age. Unlike the Scarlet fever study where everyone are placed in one category without a clear understanding of the common threat. The incidence of the intracranial meningiomas can be decreased with their findings, whereas the scarlet fever study need further studies to control and to prevent the spread of the disease since the study discovered antimicrobial drug resistance and the fact the incidence may be greater than what is reported in South Korea since only one city was the focus of the study. Their data were obtained from 8 local hospitals in the Gwangju metropolitan area directly by physically swabbing patient for the bacteria, out of 1460 tested astounding 705 tested positive for the bacteria believe to cause the disease in one city. With the WHO study, data were obtained indirectly from the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States which contains the largest aggregation of primary brain tumor incidence data in the United States and incidence data from 50 central cancer registries. With such access WHO had everything needed to get a better understanding of the population with the disease base on race, sex, age from a trusted source since cancer registries in the United States are mandated to collect

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

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.

During the 1990s, New Zealand experienced an epidemic of group B meningococcal disease, for which there was no