Meningitis

Meningitis is still with us. It can strike in an instant, but the impact can last a lifetime - Meningitis Now

Meningitis

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The mystery of meningitis


It’s every paediatrician’s nightmare. A child arrives in the Emergency Department with a high fever, a rash whose spots don’t go white when you press them under a glass and who turns their head away from the light. The toddler was well until a few hours before and, from the parents’ story, things are going downhill fast. If you get the diagnosis wrong, the child could be dead within hours.

The safest assumption is that meningitis-causing bacteria are coursing though the patient’s bloodstream (septicaemia) and infecting the membranes (meninges) around the brain. The imperative is to get intravenous antibiotics into the child as soon as possible.

Several types of bacteria…

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 The mystery of meningitis

Meningitis is generally a disease doctors expect to see only in children or young adults. So clinicians’ antennae aren’t up when someone older comes into the surgery sick...

Meningitis Angels

Not just college freshmen living in dorms get meningitis. Please educate yourself, speak to your health care provider, follow ACIP recommendations for adolescents and get immunized.

Meningitis Centre Australia

Meningitis Centre Australia Inc is a not-for-profit organisation based in Perth, Western Australia. It was established in 1992 by a group of parents and health care professionals who recognised the need to raise public awareness of meningitis and its various forms.

Meningitis Foundation of America

Founded in 1997, the Meningitis Foundation of America is the first national non-profit in the United States of America dedicated to the education, vaccination and eradication of meningitis. Our mission is to support sufferers of meningitis and their families through support groups, advocate for advanced research for the prevention and the long term effects of various meningitis strains as well as facilitating programs to educate the public about the causes and symptoms of meningitis.

Meningitis Now

Our vision is a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.

Meningitis Research Foundation

The charity funds research to prevent meningitis and septicaemia, and to improve survival rates and outcomes.

Meningitis Research Foundation of Canada

The Meningitis Research Foundation of Canada is dedicated to the prevention of Meningitis, to improving survival rates and outcomes, and to the support of families of those whose lives have been changed by this disease.

National Meningitis Association

NMA''s mission is to educate families, medical professionals and others about bacterial meningitis and prevention approaches to the disease.

The Jamie Group

The mission of The J.A.M.I.E Group is to share knowledge about meningitis so that all can avoid this devastating but vaccine preventable disease. We are committed to lead the fight through education & community awareness & to advocate for increased information for students, parents, teachers & the medical profession. With your help, we can carry out this mission to secure stronger & healthier communities.

CDC

Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis may develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria or viruses, but meningitis can also be caused by physical injury, cancer or certain drugs. The severity of illness and the treatment for meningitis differ depending on the cause. Thus, it is important to know the specific cause of meningitis.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Meningitis and encephalitis information page

Nederlandse Meningitis Stichting

Meningitis information, links, forum

All About Heaven

Untreated, bacterial meningitis is almost always fatal. Viral meningitis, in contrast, tends to resolve spontaneously and is rarely fatal. With treatment, mortality (risk of death) from bacterial meningitis depends on the age of the patient and the underlying cause.

Healthcare Industry Today

Meningitis News is an EIN News Service for health professionals.

KidsHealth

Kids of any age can get meningitis, but because it can be easily spread among people living in close quarters, teens, college students, and boarding-school students are at higher risk for infection.

MayoClinic

Most cases of meningitis in the U.S. are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial and fungal infections also can lead to meningitis. Depending on the cause of the infection, meningitis can get better on its own in a couple of weeks – or it can be a life-threatening emergency requiring urgent antibiotic treatment.

MedicineNet

Basic steps to avoid spread of organisms, such a hand washing and covering your mouth when coughing, will also help in decreasing the risk of spreading meningitis. There are vaccines against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B) and against some strains of N. meningitidis and many types of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

MedlinePlus

Early treatment can help prevent serious problems, including death. Vaccines can prevent some of the bacterial infections that cause meningitis. Parents of adolescents and students living in college dorms should talk to a doctor about the vaccination.

WHO

Meningitis is 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.

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