The Pathophysiology Of Bacterial Meningitis

Neisseria meningitidis, also known as meningococcus, is a human pathogen that causes severe infections in the menings that surround the brain and spinal cord. There is a 50% fatality rate if the infections are not treated on time. (1)

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.

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

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.

•     Meningitis is a dangerous infection that can cause the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord to swell. There are two types of Meningitis. The most common type of Meningitis is caused by a virus. Viral

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 and encephalitis are infections that affect the brain. The two differences between them is observed in the region of the brain they infect. Both infections cause inflammation and swelling of the brain and can trigger serious effects or even death.

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

Meningococcal Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective coverings of brain and spinal cord called the meninges. Meningococcal Meningitis is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria (Theobald, M, 2014). There are five forms of meningitis, bacterial being the most fatal. The other form types are viral, parasitic, fungal, and non-infectious. Meningococcal Meningitis can also be caused by other bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, and, Listeria monocytogenes (CDC, 2016). Without any treatment of meningitis, it can spread into the blood and cause sepsis--when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection, trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). Meningitis is usually caused as a secondary infection when it makes its way into the central nervous

Meningococcal meningitis: In Europe and the Americas, serogroups B and C are predominant while in Africa serogroups A and C are dominant; serogroup W-135 is pandemic and serogroup Y as the dominant strain of infection in the United States and Canada. There are 75-80% of patients acquiring this type of infection which is an infection of the brain and spinal cord with a mortality rate of 2-4%. Bacterial meningitis causes brain damage, hearing loss and learning disabilities to those that do survive. Meningococci shed their endotoxin, which damages tissues and activates the cytokine cascade (inflammation). This then allows them access to the subarachnoid space causing the blood-brain barrier to seep.

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

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 associated several unpleasant symptom such as fever, vomiting, headache, limb pain, and neck stiffness(Refernce). The severity of symptom varies according to the type of pathogen , duration of illness and the age of child( feign1992 ). .According to the recent evidence based reports, Suspected bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency, and immediate diagnostic steps must be taken to establish the specific cause so that appropriate antimicrobial therapy can be initiated. The mortality rate of untreated bacterial meningitis approaches 100 percent and, even with optimal therapy, morbidity and mortality may occur. Neurologic sequelae are common among survivors.meningities is considered as medical emergency required Now, of course, the admission to hospital can be unpleasant for the child and the use of antibiotics itself might cause some adverse effect. However, the illness syndrome and complications results in much more suffering over a longer duration than does the

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

Abstract: Background: The clinical distinction between acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) & viral meningitis is difficult in the acute phase of illness. Bacterial culture of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the gold-standard technique for confirmation but approx. 50% of cases are not confirmed. Antibiotics are often instituted before lumbar puncture, reducing the chance of a microbiological diagnosis. Objective: to evaluate the role & efficacy of CSF & serum Heparin-binding protein (HBP) in diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Patients: 30 patients diagnosed with ABM, 30 diagnosed with patients with viral meningitis & 30 subjects with normal CSF examination findings (controls). Setting: Ministry of Health specialized hospital, Alexandria, Egypt Design & Measurements: Diagnosis was based on history, clinical criteria, CSF examination, latex agglutination & culture and sensitivities. HBP was measured using in both serum & CSF. Intervention: none. Results: CSF HBP levels averaged 0.82 ± 0.3 ng/mL in controls, 3.3 ± 1.7 ng/mL in viral meningitis & 174.8 ± 46.7 ng/mL in ABM. The mean serum HBP level was in the controls 0.84± 0.3 ng/mL in controls, 3.7 ± 1.9 ng/mL in viral meningitis & 192.2 ± 56.6 ng/mL in ABM.