Meningitis Outbreak

Running head : MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS

Meningococcal Meningitis

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Meningococcal Meningitis

Meningococcal meningitis is a severe bacterial infection of the meninges and the blood stream . This is disease is more common usually during late summer and early fall , but it can occur throughout the year . This medical condition is caused by a microorganism termed as meningococcus scientific name : Neisseria meningitides . Among the several bacteria that can cause meningitis , Neisseria meningitides is one which is most important because it has the ability to potentially cause epidemics

Bacterial meningitis is rarer

but more difficult to cure compared to viral meningitis (a meningitis of which the causative agent is a virus rather than a baterium ) on which a patient would usually recover without any form of treatment or medication . In the case of bacterial meningitis , a patient would require treatment of antibiotics and other prescription drugs . As a bacterial meningitis , meningococcal meningitis can cause very grave illness and requires immediate diagnosis and treatment , if the infection is untreated , it could be fatal

Meningococcal meningitis only infect humans . It is also estimated that around 10 to 25 of the population carry the bacterium Neisseria meningitides , at any given time , and epidemic situations often results from a massive increase in carriage rate of the bacterium

Haemophilus influenza (type B Hib ) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis before the late 1800s . At that time period , new vaccines have already been developed and administered to children as part of routine immunizations in to reduce the occurrence of an epidemic outbreak caused by H . influenza

An outbreak of the Meningococcal disease had first been recorded in Geneva Switzerland in 1805 . But only in 1887 , was Neisseria meningitides , the causative agent , identified . At present , the microbacteria neisseria meningitides is the primary cause of bacterial meningitis

There are twelve subtypes of serogroups of N . meningitidis that have been identified and four (N . meningitidis . A , B , C and W135 ) which are recognized and tested to cause epidemics

The immunogenicity , pathogenicity , ability to cause an epidemic of the bacteria , would differ according to the serogroup . Therefore identifying the serogroup responsible for the sporadic case is a very important step in containing the epidemic and in searching for a cure

Meningococcal meningitis is a highly contagious disease and often occurs as an epidemic usually occurring at a place or a community wherein people live in close quarters with poor ventilation such as on military camps and college dormitories

Usually , the neisseria meningitides micro bacterium , would easily spread with close contact on nose , throat and mucus discharges from an already infected person . While there are some who would carry this particular type of bacterium in their nose and throat , whithout showing any signs of illnesses , there are still those who may develop serious symptoms once exposed to the bacterium

From the respiratory tract , the blood-borne bacterium , neisseria meningitides , will enter the cerebrospinal fluid (watery liquid surrounding the spinal cord ) of an organism . Upon infection , the organism would release toxins into the spinal fluid...