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Pathophysiology of meningitis
Meningitis bacteriology
Pathophysiology of meningitis
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Recommended: Pathophysiology of meningitis
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.
Bacterial meningitis is severe in most cases. Many people fully recover but for those who are less fortunate it may cause brain damage leading to learning disabilities and hearing loss. There are many different pathogens that cause bacterial meningitis. The most common here in the United States are Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Neisseria meningitidis. These bacteria can be transmitted through direct contact with the nose and throat secretions of an infected person. The main reservoirs for these bacteria are humans but can also be the environment, mainly from the soil.
In order to determine if a person has bacterial meningitis blood and cerebrospinal fluid are collected and analyzed by a laboratory. Once it is confirmed that bacteria are present they are then cultured to determine what type of bacteria are present. This lets doctors know how to treat the disease.
The discovery of meningitis dates back to the 1800’s. The first evidence that linked bacterial infection as a cause of meningitis was written by Austrian pathologist Anton Weichselbaum. He was the one to isolate the causative agent of cerebrospinal meningitis. He named this bacterium Diplococcus intracellularis meningitidis.
The symptoms of bacterial meningitis can appear rapidly over several days. Normally they develop within 3-7 days after exposure to the bacteria. Signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis can occur suddenly and they include: headac...
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...ents. This puts you more at risk for expose to bacteria to the filth of others around you.
Pregnancy can also be titled as a risk factor. You're at increased risk of contracting listeriosis which is an infection caused by listeria bacteria. This bacterium may also cause meningitis. If you have listeriosis, your unborn baby is also at high risk of catching meningitis.
The last risk factor that I’m going to discuss is weakened immune systems. Some factors that may cause a weakened immune system are: AIDS, alcoholism, diabetes, and certain drugs. When these factors weaken the immune system your body cannot prevent infection. In fact it is very easy to contract meningitis with the above health issues.
In conclusion meningitis is not something to take lightly. Stay vaccinated and take preventative actions because this disease is wide spread and can be fatal.
Other diseases include a hearing loss, coronary heart disease, HIV and AIDS, kidney failure, and male infertility. Still other diseases include tinnitus, hepatitis C, pre-eclampsia, obesity, cholesterol and muscular
This condition can spread from one person to another (contagious). Toxin-producing E. coli can also spread from animals to humans. Most cases of E. coli infection come from cattle.
Urinary Tract Infection, also known as UTI, occurs in two common locations, the bladder and kidneys. The kidneys are important organs that aid in filtering out waste products from blood and maintaining water distribution throughout the body. The waste products are filtered out via bladder, which is the reason of the bladder being the second site for the infection. A normal human being has two kidneys, one on left and right side, a bean shaped organ, and is located at the back of the abdomen. “Each kidney is about 11.5 cm long, 5-7.5 cm broad, 5 cm thick, and weight about 150 grams” (HealthInfoNet, Paragraph 2). Furthermore, a bacterium named Escherichia coli lives in both the kidneys and the GI tract. E. coli is part of the human body and produces
About half the population is not exposed to this virus until late adolescence. The peak incidence for girls is 14-16 and boys 16-18. After initial contact with the virus, there is an incubation period of 4-6 weeks and then the symptoms start appearing. Symptoms include fever, sore throat and lymph adenopathy (swollen and tender lymph nodes). Mono may be called glandular fever as well because of the swelling in the lymph nodes. Fevers can get as high as 102 degrees Fahrenheit and may remain high for 3-4 weeks. Other symptoms include enlargement of the spleen and liver, fatigue, loss of appetite, periorbital edema (swelling of the tissue around the eyes), petechiae (tiny bruising like spots on the roof of mouth), and a fine rash. The white blood cell and liver enzyme counts are elevated, and anemia can occur with low platelet counts.
Meningitis is believed to have existed since ancient times (Mandal, 2012), and the World Health Organization (2014) continues to regard it as a global public health risk even to this present day, with the disease becoming so prominent in sub-Saharan Africa that the area itself has been dubbed “the meningitis belt”. Meningitis is a worldwide problem that demands attention and solutions. Meningitis is a disease that specifically affects the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, otherwise known as the meninges, causing the aforementioned membranes to become inflamed. With respect to its initial cause, the severity of meningitis can range from the infected being able to recover independently (with the natural performance of their immune systems alone), to potentially fatal (in which the infected will then require immediate medical attention in the form of
Hicks, Rob, Dr., and Trisha Macnair, Dr. “Meningitis.” BBC. Dec. 2005. 27 July 2006 .
Meningitis by definition is the inflammation of the meninges, the three layered protective membrane that surrounds the central nervous system. The meninges are comprised of the Dura mater, the Arachnoid mater, and the innermost Pia mater. It is of utmost importance to determine if bacteria, virus, fungus, toxins, or parasites, caused the inflammation, and treat the microorganism quickly and efficiently to give the best prognosis. It is of utmost importance to determine the cause of inflammation (i.e. bacteria, virus, fungus, toxins). While viral or aseptic meningitis only need supportive treatment, bacterial meningitis is one of the ten most common causes of death by infectious disease killing approximately 135,000 people a year (Waghdhare, Kalantri, Joshi, & Kalantri, 2010).
Throughout history there have been very dangerous diseases that have been able to single handedly wipe out entire civilizations because there was nothing that we could do about it. Most of the time was because we did not quite understand what was actually happening. But thanks to all of the scientific advancements humans are able to live many more times than previous years. But that doesn’t meant that every human is healthy enough. This means that although we are less prone to die from some infectious diseases, we now have other risk for example not keeping up with a healthy diet is one of the many reasons why there are so many premature deaths. Now if you don’t get treated right away it can get worst the longer you get and sometimes it can also be fatal. One of those is Meningitis which is something very serious that if it doesn’t get treated it can lead to very serious complications in the long run or even death depending on the case. The reason why I chose this one was because when I was in high school I suffered from some...
The first recorded major outbreak of meningitis occurred in 1805, even though many scientists suggest that Hippocrates was the first to discover the existence of meningitis and there is evidence that suggests that the disease was also studied by pre-Renaissance physicians. Sir Rober Whytt is attributed with the description of tuberculosis meningitis in a report in 1768. Meningitis outbreaks were subsequently described in Europe, America and Africa by 1840. The epidemic became very common in Africa, starting with a major epidemic in Nigeria and Ghana in 1905. Today, Sub-Saharan Africa is known as the meningitis belt because it has been heavily plagued by large epidemics of the disease throughout the century.
Alexander discovered penicillin by just a weird accident; According to the article, when bacteriologist Alexander Fleming left for his vacation one day in September of 1928 he left a mess in his laboratory, when he came about one month later he noticed that every dish he had left out in the open was all covered in mold. He examined the dishes to see if they had been contaminated. Out of the sudden Fleming focused his attention in one particular dish. The dish that had caught the attention of Alexander was covered in a lot of mold specific the mold had staphylococci culture it had also grown a bit of yellow-green mold. Fleming noticed a ring in the mold but when examined it; The ring was bacteria-free. The molds name was Penicillium Notatum. This seemed very unusual to Alexander Fleming. Believe it or not that was how penicillin was discovered.
The illnesses themselves occur due to interactions of many cells and other factors like stress, abuse, or a traumatic event that which can influence or trigger an illness that a person has inherited a susceptibility to; Infections in the brain; Brain defects or injuries; Prenatal damage; or Substance abuse and other factors like poor nutrition. Psychological factors deal with: Psychological trauma as a child such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse; An important early loss, such as losing a parent; Neglect; or Poor ability to relate to others. And Environmental factors that deal with: Death or Divorce; A dysfunctional family life; Feelings of inadequacy or low self-esteem; Changing jobs or schools; Social or Cultural expectations; or Substance abuse by them or their parents. There are many types of mental illness, and the most common include: Anxiety disorders, Mood disorders, Psychotic disorders, Eating disorders, Impulse control and Addiction disorders, Personality disorders, Obsessive-compulsive disorder
The swine influenza or swine flu is a respiratory disease in pigs that is caused by the type A influenza viruses. These viruses are referred to as swine flu viruses but scientifically the main virus is called the swine triple reassortant (tr) H1N1 influenza virus. When the viruses infect humans they are called variant viruses. This infection has been caused in humans mainly by the H1N1v virus in the United States. The H1N1 virus originates in animals due to improper conditions and the food they ingest. The virus stays in latency form, thus harmless to the respective animal. The longer the animals survive the more likely the virus is to develop and strengthen making it immune to vaccines. The virus reproduced through the lytic cycle. The virus injects its own nucleic acids into a host cell and then they form a circle in the center of the cell. Rather than copying its own nucleic acids, the cell will copy the viral acids. The copies of viral acids then organize themselves as viruses inside of the cell. The membrane will eventually split leaving the viruses free to infect other cells.
According to Dr. Varnada Karriem-Norwood, bacterial meningitis is caused by bacteria such as Neisseria meningitidis. These bacteria cause the meninges that cover the brain and spinal cord to swell which decreases the blood flow to the brain, which can cause paralysis. The bacteria travel to your brain after entering the body through the respiratory system (Karriem-Norwood, 2014).
... consideration, the most severe of all is the chance of death due to one of the diseases.
There are numerous public health problems that can be addressed in my Southside of Chicago community. Among the several public health problems facing my Southside of Chicago community there are two that are more urgent. Health education or one might say lack thereof is a problem that needs to be addressed. My community is plagued with many of the residents suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, and the killer virus known as HIV. In most cases these conditions can be prevented with healthier lifestyles and access to nutritious organic foods. In addition, environmental health is another urgent problem my community is facing. Access to clean, safe water and air is supposed to be a fundamental human right aimed at a healthy environment. Yet, my community consists a waste contaminated beach, numerous deteriorated building that are still occupied, and a countless number of restaurant and stores supplying our residents with services that are endangering their health.