We need information on meningitis

Compliments of the season. Many states in Nigeria are experiencing an outbreak of meningitis. Please your readers need information about the disease, and how they can reduce its spread.   Michael O.   Thanks Michael for your question. “Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the covering of the brain and spinal cord. It is […]

Compliments of the season. Many states in Nigeria are experiencing an outbreak of meningitis. Please your readers need information about the disease, and how they can reduce its spread.  

Michael O.

 

Thanks Michael for your question. “Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the covering of the brain and spinal cord. It is most often caused by infection (bacterial, viral, or fungal), but can also be produced by chemical irritation, subarachnoid haemorrhage, cancer and other conditions. Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial form of meningitis, a serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.”

The bacteria  is transmitted from person-to-person through:

1.Droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from carriers.

2.Close and prolonged contact – such as kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone.

3.Living in close quarters (such as a dormitory, sharing eating or drinking utensils) with an infected person (a carrier).

The average incubation period is four days, but can range between two and 10 days.

Neisseria meningitidis only infects humans; there is no animal reservoir. The bacteria can be carried in the throat and sometimes, for reasons not fully understood, can overwhelm the body’s defences allowing infection to spread through the bloodstream to the brain. 

Symptoms

The most common symptoms are:

•Stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light.

•Confusion, headaches and vomiting. 

•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. 

•Bacterial meningitis may result in brain damage, hearing loss or a learning disability in 10% to 20% of survivors. 

•A less common but even more severe (often fatal) form of meningococcal disease is meningococcal septicaemia, which is characterized by a haemorrhagic rash and rapid circulatory collapse.

 

Diagnosis

Initial diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis can be made by clinical examination followed by a lumbar puncture showing a purulent spinal fluid. The bacteria can sometimes be seen in microscopic examinations of the spinal fluid. The diagnosis is supported or confirmed by growing the bacteria from specimens of spinal fluid or blood, by agglutination tests or by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The identification of the sero-groups and susceptibility testing to antibiotics are important to define control measures.

Treatment

Meningococcal disease is potentially fatal and should always be viewed as a medical emergency. Admission to a hospital or health centre is necessary, although isolation of the patient is not necessary. Appropriate antibiotic treatment must be started as soon as possible, ideally after the lumbar puncture has been carried out if such a puncture can be performed immediately. If treatment is started prior to the lumbar puncture it may be difficult to grow the bacteria from the spinal fluid and confirm the diagnosis.

A range of antibiotics can treat the infection, including penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and ceftriaxone. 

Prevention

There are three types of vaccines available.Polysaccharide vaccines have been available to prevent the disease for over 30 years. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines are available in either bivalent (groups A and C), trivalent (groups A, C and W), or tetravalent (groups A, C, Y and W135).