Meningitis Essay

Over 1 million people are affected by meningitis every year, and from this statistic, about 170,000 people have died from the most severe type of meningitis, which is bacterial meningitis (comomeningitis.org). The scientific definition of meningitis is the inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord that can turn deadly if not caught and treated in time. Unfortunately, those who do survive can develop long-term effects such as deafness and brain damage. In order to prevent meningitis, you need to understand the five different types of meningitis. In this report, I am going to be discussing three main types of meningitis in depth and I will briefly go over the other two types of meningitis. The most common type of meningitis is

Before, scientists believed that meningitis was not a hereditary disease. Today, there is evidence that some people can inherit genes that can cause the likelihood of contracting meningitis from a particular set of genes. For this topic, I will be discussing the physical and biological causes of meningitis and why there is an increase of outbreaks among young adults, especially on college campuses.

There are five types of meningitis bacterial, viral, parasitic, fungal, and non-infectious meningitis. The most common type if viral, which is less severe and does usually does not require any type of treatment. Unlike bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis can resolve on its own. Most people infected with viral meningitis usually have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Non-polio enteroviruses are the most common cause of viral meningitis in the United States, especially from late spring to fall when these viruses spread most often” (CDC). There are also other viruses that cause meningitis, including the influenza virus, which is the common viral infection known as the flu. This type of meningitis can be prevented by taking care of your

There are different reasons why people develop bacterial meningitis. Some of the reasons are age, medical conditions, and the setting. With bacterial meningitis, proper treatment should be done as soon as the symptoms begin because death can occur hours after you contract bacterial meningitis. According to CDC, “most people can recover from meningitis. However, permanent disabilities such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities can result from the infection” (CDC). A person who carries the bacteria can pass the bacteria to another person, increasing the risk of having bacterial meningitis. The only way you can prevent bacterial meningitis is by getting vaccinated. Although bacterial meningitis is the most serious type, there is a variety of antibiotics that can help to treat it. Some of the specific medications are usually given to patients to reduce inflammation pressure in the brain. When doctors recognize the system they analyze white blood cells, high protein content, neutrophils, glucose, and lactose content to see whether or not you have bacterial meningitis. Further tests include CRP, also called Serum C-reactive protein, which is a test that doctors use to distinguish what type of meningitis it is. Another test that doctors run is a CT scan of the brain to see any abnormalities, such as swelling of the