Meningococcal is a bacterial disease, it is a very uncommon disease but can be life threatening. Meningococcal can lead to two very serious illnesses which are Meningitis and Septicaemia. Meningitis is an infection in the membranes that covers the brain and septicaemia is an infection in the blood. Even though the risk of getting meningococcal meningitis is very low, anyone at anytime at any age can get affected by it. Meningococcal meningitis is most common to rise in winter and early spring.
Types of Meningitis:
There are multiple different types of meningitis which are, Viral Meningitis, Bacterial Meningitis, Fungal Meningitis, Parasitic Meningitis and Non-Infectious Meningitis. Each different types of meningitis is caused by something different but it still effects the same area of the body, which is the brain and spinal cord. All types of meningitis travel through the bloodstream till they reach the brain and spinal cord. Viral meningitis is the most common type of meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is also a very common type that people can get. Fungal and parasitic meningitis are a lot rarer than viral and bacterial. Non-infectious meningitis isn’t actually an infection in the body it is caused by a physical conditions like a head injury, brain tumor or lupus.
What are the symptoms of Meningitis?
There are different symptoms for people of different ages groups. For example babies and younger children will experience different symptoms compared to teenagers and adults. The type of symptoms babies and younger children may come across are:
Coming down with a fever
Be very unsettled and crying a lot more than normal
Refuse food and liquids
Vomit up any food or liquid in their system
Be sleepy and when they’re asleep hard to wake up
Be more sensitive to bright lights
Start to develop a red or purple spotty like rash (not all children suffer from a rash)
These are the types of symptoms a younger child could suffer from. The symptoms that a teenager or adult can suffer from are similar to these but they are slightly more intense:
Can come down with a fever or develop a headache/migraine
Get a stiff neck
Joints and muscles start to hurt and ache
Vomit up anything in their system
Can be sleepy, confused and delirious or the opposite, unconscious
Become more sensitive to bright lights
Develop a red, purple rash (unlike children, teens and adults will contract a rash)
The thing with these symptoms is that when in the early stages they are very similar to symptoms of the flu or any other viral infection.
What areas of the body does Meningitis effect?
Meningitis affects the brain and spinal cord of the body. The disease travels through the bloodstream until it reaches the spinal cord. Meningitis is infection that causes swelling of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It causes the protective membranes of the central nervous system to swell. Swelling in these areas can affect every part of the body.
How is Meningitis transmitted?
Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial spread meningitis, which means that it’s spread by spit or saliva. This can happen by kissing, coughing or sharing food and drink with another person. Its difficult to catch because they can’t live for very long outside of the body. You can’t catch meningococcal meningitis just by breathing the air or having casual contact with someone who has had it. A good thing is that it not as contagious as the common cold or flu.
Explain how Meningitis actually affects the body and causes these symptoms:
Meningococcal bacteria enters the body through the nose and mouth. The back of the nose lined with a ciliated mucous membrane. The meningococcal bacteria can be carried at the back of the nose and throat for weeks or even months without affecting the body. When the meningococcal bacteria successfully invades the body, it releases a chemical called . It destroys the cilia at the back of the nose and throat. The bacteria can then cross the mucous membrane and flow into the bloodstream. The meningococcal bacteria then starts to multiply when it enters the bloodstream. The bacteria doubles its number in 20-30 minutes. While the bacteria is in the bloodstream it causes the meninges to become inflamed, this then causes pressure on the brain and can cause severe nerve damage. While the bacteria is infecting the meninges it also damages the blood vessels in the lining of the brain. This allows bacteria to leak through and affect the cerebrospinal fluid. Meningococcal bacteria has a slimy coat, it will release some poisons that the body will start to fight off. White blood cells come along to destroy the bacteria but this isn’t enough to kill the infection. This then causes the body to show symptoms of becoming unwell. For example drowsiness or a fever.
What are the treatment options for Meningitis?
When doctors can finally diagnose someone with meningococcal meningitis then they can be treated with antibiotics. As soon as you start to see symptoms of meningitis you need to get medical attention. The best antibiotics to help treat meningitis are forms of penicillins and cephalosporins. Because meningitis is in the bloodstream then infects the passage of substances traveling to the brain, the medication has to be infected straight into the veins through an IV. The medication will be given in large doses. A type of medication called acyclovir is also a good one for curing meningitis.
How do humans try to prevent catching Meningitis?
When someone is diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis they give antibiotics to people who have close contact with that person. For example people who live with them or their close friends they see regularly. These antibiotics clear the organism from the person throat. Other ways to prevent others from getting meningococcal meningitis is to try not to share food and drinks with people and to cover your mouth when coughing. There is also a meningitis immunisation. You can get these at the age of two months old and up. The downside is that these vacancies aren’t free and only last two to five years, which means you have to get these shots regularly.
History behind Meningitis:
Meningitis was a dreaded disease. When it first became a huge problem there was no such thing as antibiotics. People who survived meningitis were left being deaf, blind or mentally disabled. During WW1 meningitis may as well have been on steroids, affecting hundreds of soldiers. At the time the only medication that seemed to work was antiserum which was developed by horses but during the years it started to lose its effectiveness on curing meningitis. After a lot of researched people discovered that sulfonamide was another very effective type of medication use to cure meningitis. Doctors used sulfonamide and antiserum during WW2 to keep meningitis from out bursting.
Discuss the wider issues related to meningococcal meningitis for you personally, your community, your country and the world. (Stigma)
By this graph we can see that over 18 years meningococcal meningitis has had a huge decrease in cases in wales. This shows that the treatments that doctors have came up with have had a great success rate with preventing the spread of meningitis. The most used medication for meningococcal meningitis are penicillin type antibiotics. Such as, Claforan and Rocephin.