Conditions & Diseases: Brain & Nervous System

Meningitis

See Also:
Meningitis: Introduction
Meningitis: Types
Meningitis: Causes & Risk Factors
Meningitis: Signs & Symptoms
Meningitis: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Meningitis: Treatment Options
Meningitis: Prevention Methods

Introduction/Overview
Infection of the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord is called Meningitis or Meningococcal disease (1). Various microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and amoeba cause the infection (2).

It is very important to know the causes of infection, since treatment and severity of the disease differ for viral, bacterial and fungal meningitis. Viral meningitis is less severe, as compared to bacterial meningitis, and can be resolved “…without a specific treatment.” Bacterial meningitis may be severe and lead to brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability. To prevent the spreading of bacterial meningitis, it is very important to know the strains of bacteria causing meningitis (3).

The number of meningitis cases is higher in temperate regions of the world in winter and spring seasons. The table below depicts the causal serogroups against respective regions/countries: (4)

Every year nearly 5,000-7,000 people suffer from bacterial meningitis in the US and nearly half of them die even after complete medical attention (5).

See Also:
Meningitis: Introduction
Meningitis: Types
Meningitis: Causes & Risk Factors
Meningitis: Signs & Symptoms
Meningitis: Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods
Meningitis: Treatment Options
Meningitis: Prevention Methods

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com