What Is Meningitis?

Meningitis is the inflammation of the tissues which cover the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by several different germs, mainly bacteria and viruses.

Viral Meningitis:

It is more common than bacterial, although rarely life threatening. Viral meningitis cases are usually self-limited to 10 days or less.

Bacterial Meningitis:

Bacterial meningitis is quite rare, but it can be very serious and needs urgent treatment with antibiotics.

It is fatal in one in 10 cases and one in seven survivors is left with severe handicap, such as deafness or brain injury.

There are many different strains of bacterial meningitis, the more common of which is Meningococcal.

The bacteria which cause both meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis are very common and live naturally in the back of the nose and throat, or the upper respiratory tract.

People of any age can carry these germs for months without becoming ill. At any one time, around 10 to 25 percent of the population are carriers. Only rarely do the bacteria overcome the body's defenses and cause meningitis.

The germs are spread between people through very prolonged, close contact, such as coughing, sneezing and kissing. But they cannot live outside of the body for long so they cannot be picked up from water supplies, swimming pools, buildings or factories.

In a given year, 4.5 children, per 100,000 population, between 1 month and 23 months will get meningococcal meningitis. The older you get, the more capable your body is of fighting off the infection.

Different Types Of Meningitis

In some cases the meningococcal bacteria that can cause meningitis can also cause septicaemia or blood poisoning. Septicaemia can develop very quickly.

In septicaemia, the bacteria release toxins into the blood which break down the walls of the blood vessels allowing blood to leak out under the skin. A rash appears under the skin which starts as a cluster of tiny blood spots and looks like pin-pricks in the skin. It also reduces the amount of blood reaching vital organs such as the liver and kidneys. If they are left untreated, they get bigger and become multiple areas of obvious bleeding under the skin surface, like fresh bruises.

The rash can appear anywhere on the body. It will more difficult to see the rash if you have darker skin. The spots or bruises do not disappear when pressed.

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