Infectious Disease: Meningitis

903 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Viral meningitis

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.

One of the four different types of meningitis is bacterial meningitis. Neisseria meningitides is a bacterium that is seen to be the main cause of bacterial meningitis. There are multiple forms of this type of bacterium; therefore more than on strain exists of this disease. Infection that is caused by a virus or bacteria, could lead to inflammation of the natural barrier of the spinal cord and brains membranes, called the meninges. Vaccines are available for the strains A and C but unfortunately no vaccines are available for strain B of the disease. Bacterial meningitis is much more severe and possibly even fatal than another form of this disease called viral meningitis.

Viral Meningitis, called aseptic meningitis, is also caused by a viral or bacterial infection, in the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. A specific virus cannot be singled out as the main cause for the viral form of this disease. It is not abnormal to have children with a mumps or herpes virus infections develop viral meningitis. Mosquito-borne viruses are also known to cause a few cases each year. Most viral meningitis cases are dealt with and resolved without treatment and clear up in a week to a week and a half.

Fungal Meningitis is also an inflammation and po...

... middle of paper ...

...d to meningitis at home and more often than none, people that live in close quarters, such as military barracks and college dorms, are at even a higher risk.

Works Cited

(2005-2011)Meningitis. WebMD.

Retrieved On August 9, 2011, from http://children.webmd.com/vaccines/tc/meningitis-topic-overview

(2011) Fungal Meningitis. WrongDiagnosis.com.

Retrieved on August 9, 2011 from http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/f/fungal_meningitis/basics.htm

(1988-2011) Meningitis Causes. HealthCommunities.com.

Retrieved on August 9, 2011 from http://www.healthcommunities.com/meningitis/causes.shtml

(1998-2010) Bacterial Meningitis. Pharmacy Online.

Retrieved on August 9, 2011 from http://www.medi-info.com/meningitis-bacterial/

(2011) Viral Meningitis. DHPE.

Retrieved on August 9, 2011 from https://netforum.avectra.com/eWeb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=DHPE&WebCode=HomePage

Show More
Related

  • Naegleria Fowleri

    2011 Words  | 5 Pages

    The microbe Naegleria fowleri, commonly called the brain-eating-amoeba, was first identified from a fatal case of primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) in Australia in 1961. In 1965, three further cases of fatal PAM were found, from which clinical and laboratory investigations pointed to a relation with acute bacterial meningitis among the cases of an unknown etiology. According to Fowler & Carter (1965), when post-death examinations of the bodies were performed researchers found that “microscopically the meningeal exudate consisted of about equal proportions of neutrophil leukocytes and chronic inflammatory cells, amongst which small, often degenerate amoebae were sparsely distributed” (p.740). The species of the organism that caused the amoeboflagellate related disease was later named Naegleria fowleri after one of the primary authors of the report, M. Fowler. Butt reports that the first case of PAM in the United States occurred in Florida in 1962 and a further retrospective study reported by dos Santos Netos suggested that additional identified cases of PAM in Virginia may have dated as far back as 1937 (as cited in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013, Pathogen). As research on the microbe ensues, more cases of PAM are beginning to surface and the search for a cure to the fatal infection is imperative.

    Read More

  • Pneumonia Research Paper

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...y infections that could cause short term or long term unneeded damage. For this reason doctors and health care professionals are recommending that all people of all ages to get theses vaccines (University of Maryland Center, 2014). Other ways to prevent this disease are to simply keep clean and be aware of good hand hygiene (University of Maryland Center, 2014). By washing your hands with antimicrobial soap and warm water with friction, most bacteria are killed. Doing this prevents organisms from potentially getting inside your body.

    Read More

  • Polio Essay

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... damaged neurons. (Mayo clinic, 2014). This is called neuroplasticity, the ability for the nerves to compensate for damage caused by some outside force. Because of neuroplasticity physical training works to cure some of the paralysis left by the virus and allows us to walk again after the legs or another appendage is deformed or damaged.

    Read More

  • Alzheimer Case Study

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    develops when clumps of abnormal proteins grow in the brain. It grows and grows but at a slow pace , overtime they add up until the brain cells becomes damaged and die. If you are concerned that you or any family member might have some of the symptoms you should talk to your family doctor. The symptoms that you should pay attention to should be:

    Read More

  • Mumps Virus

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mumps is primarily a childhood disease, occurring most frequently between the ages of 5 to 9, although it was also known as a problem for soldiers during war because of the sanitary conditions and close proximity. For instance, in World War I only influenza and gonorrhea were more prevalent among the armies. It replicates inside the nose, throat, and regional lymph nodes. The virus incubates for about 14-18 days, and then a viremia occurs for about 3-5 days. During the viremia it can spread to the meninges, salivary glands, testes, ovaries and pancreas. Out of the infected population, 30 to 40% get swollen parotid salivary glands, with most of the rest being asymptomatic or having only respiratory problems. Around 60% of patients have asymptomatic meningitis, with up to 15% progressing to symptomatic. Encephalitis is also possible, occurring in around 5/100,000 cases. The encephalitis almost always results in some permanent hearing loss, and was historically the leading cause of hearing loss in children. Orchitis (testicular swelling) happens in up to 50% of post-pubertal males, with oophritis (ovarian swelling) happening in only 5% of women. Orchitis often results in testicular atrophy but very rarely in sterility.

    Read More

  • Infectious Disease: Malaria

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Malaria is a common infectious disease found mainly in the tropics but in rare circumstances can be found in temperate areas. Depending on the circumstances malaria can be either life threatening cause serious illness.

    Read More

  • West Nile Virus

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    While many forms of encephalitis exist, West Nile Virus was first isolated and identified in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937. The virus, which was seemingly isolated to North Eastern Africa, became recognized as a cause of severe human meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and brain) in elderly patients during an outbreak in Israel in 1957. In addition to the human victims of this disease, the virus was found Egypt and France during 1960s to have fatal effects within horses. While this disease spread through Northern African and Southern Europe, 1999 marked the first appearance of West Nile Virus in North America, with encephalitis reported in both humans and horses.

    Read More

  • Treating and Preventing Meningitis and Encephalitis

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    Due to its tendency to be both a viral and bacterial disease, meningitis can prove difficult to treat. Its dual tendencies also mean that various methods are used to attack the disease. In order to treat meningitis, different aspects of the disease must be discovered first. The type of organism causing the infection, the age of the patient, and the extent of the infection must all be taken into account (WebMD, sec. 8). Any time meningitis is found, immediate treatment with antibiotics is required, and continuation of antibiotic treatment depends on whether a bacteria or a virus is causing th...

    Read More

  • Essay On Meningitis

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Meningitis, it’s an infection in the cerebral spinal fluid and inflammation of the meninges; the three outer layers of the brain. To be more specific, those three layers are called the Dura mater, Arachnoid mater, and the Pia mater. There are three main types of meningitis that will be discussed throughout this paper; viral, bacterial, and fungal. Each form is very similar but they all vary in terms of causative organisms, treatment and severity. Although meningitis is not very common, it can become very severe and always needs to be treated immediately.

    Read More

  • Meningitis Essay

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Meningitis is defined as inflammation of the meninges, which are the thin membranous covering of the brain and spinal cord. There are different variations of the disease which include bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic, and non-infectious.

    Read More

  • Infectious Disease Essay

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bacteria are one cause of infectious disease. Bacteria are a single-cell microorganism that is very common in our bodies. Less than one percent of bacteria will actually make us sick. Some of the more common infections caused by bacteria include strep throat, salmonella, and e-coli. Strep throat is common in children and causes a painful sore throat. Strep is usually treated with antibiotic medication. Salmonella is spread on food that is contaminated by human or animal...

    Read More

  • Meningitis

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, which are membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can be caused by infections from viruses, bacterium, or other microorganisms. Due to the inflammation being in close proximity to the brain and spinal cord, meningitis can be life threatening and is classified as a medical emergency.

    Read More

  • Health Associated Infections

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections makes the patients worse or even causes death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).

    Read More

  • Healthcare Associated Infections

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs). (2014, March 26). Retrieved April 8, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/surveillance/index.html

    Read More

  • Bacterial Conjunctivitis

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Several different microorganisms cause Bacterial Conjunctivitis, the most common being Haemophilus aegyptius, the Koch-week bacillus. This type of bacterium is gram-negative and rod shaped. Haemophilus means “blood loving”and therefore grow in chocolate agar which contains disrupted blood cells. Other bacterium which may cause Bacterial Conjunctivitis include Streptococcus and Staphlyococcus. The incidence of Bacterial Conjunctivitis caused by gram positive bacterium are more predominate.

    Read More

More about Infectious Disease: Meningitis

Open Document