Introduction
Meningitis infects the meninges, the delicate membranes that house the spinal cord and the brain. It is a rare infection that can affect adults and children alike. The disease manifests in several types such as through viral, bacterial and fungal varieties. Bacterial meningitis is the most dangerous and infectious variety. It is a life threatening disease. It infects people in physical contact. Incidentally, viral meningitis is not as severe as most of the patients that develop the disease recover on their own without seeking treatment (Wang et al., 2014). Fungal meningitis is the rarest form. It occurs in people whose immune system has been compromised.
Etiology
Bacterial meningitis is caused by bacteria that enters the body and relocates to the brain and spinal cord or when bacteria invade the meninges. The point of entry can be a skull fracture, ear or sinus infection, of surgery. Bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis include Streptococcus pneumonia, (the most common cause of bacterial meningitis) Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus infleunzae, and Listeria monocytogenes (people who have weakened immune systems are most susceptible). Bacterial meningitis is commonly caused by S pneumonia in America and other countries across the globe.The common serotypes that lead to bacterial meningitis include 4, 6B, 9V, 14, 19, 18C, and 23. Pneumococcal strain 19A is the most notable serotype that causes the disease and can attack both children and adults (Kaplan et al., 2014; Wang et al., 2014).
Viral meningitis is caused by enteroviruses which are common in late summer and early fall. Viral meningitis is however mild and clears without medication. Chronic meningitis on the other hand is caused by organisms that are slow-growing e.g. Mycobacterium tuberculosis and fungi. Fungal meningitis is uncommon with only Cryptococcal meningitis being the common form and it affects persons with immune deficiencies...
References
Bedford, H. (2001). Prevention, treatment and outcomes of bacterial meningitis in childhood. Professional nurse (London, England), 17(2), 100-102.
Benaroch, R. (2017). What Is Meningitis? WebMD, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/children/understanding-meningitis-basics#1 on 26 February 2018
Roos, K.L. & van de Beek, D. (2010). Bacterial meningitis. Handb Clin Neurol;96C:51-63.
Saez-Llorens, X. & McCracken Jr., G.H. (2003). Bacterial meningitis in children. Lancet, 361: 2139 - 2148.
Stephens, D.S. (2007). Conquering the meningococcus. FEMS Microbiol Rev.31: 3-14.
Meningitis Select one bacterial, one fungal, and one viral pathogen capable of producing meningitis in humans. Bacterial: Neisseria meningitidis Fungal: Cryptococcus neoformans Viral: Epstein-Barr virus Describe the general characteristics and structure of each pathogen. Neisseria meningitidis: parasitic, aerobic, Gram-negative, non-endospore forming, nonmotile, coccal bacterium (Devoe 1982,-page 162). Cryptococcus neoformans: grows as a yeast, unicellular, replicates by budding, makes hyphae during mating, eventually creates basidospores (Heitman 2011). Epstein-Barr virus: mature particle has diameter of 120 nm to 180 nm;
Meningitis is an inflammation of the coverings of spinal cord and brain. Meningitis results from an infection to the cerebrospinal fluid in the spaces that surround the brain and spinal cord (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). Either infections from viruses or from bacteria can cause meningitis; however, the viral form of meningitis is often significantly less severe than its bacterial counterpart and usually resolves without much treatment
Meningitis Letter Dear: We are excited to have you as a student at Neisserian College and seek ways to make your educational experience here as rewarding as possible. We recognize that as a college student you are now a young adult and want to give you some important medical information regarding life at college. While schools do everything they can to protect their students' health, occasionally students will acquire an infectious disease. In
Carriers might pass on the disease, but they may not suffer from it for days, months, years or even indefinitely. The cause of susceptibility, other than the obvious -- a weakened immune -- system is not known. People who come in close contact, such as members of a family, children and youngsters at school of day care, those that are sexually or otherwise intimate will transmit the disease. These individuals
It can be quite contagious. Fungal meningitis generally occurs in patients who are immune compromised. The symptoms are similar to viral and bacterial meningitis. As with many opportunistic fungal infections of immune compromised patients, it can be quite serious, and treatment is difficult or impossible. Diagnosis and Treatment The biggest question for physicians treating patients with suspected meningitis is: "is it viral or is it bacterial?" Rapid tests for Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus)
Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (sTREM-1) were found to be a biomarker in cerebrospinal fluid during the presence of bacterial meningitis; however, it is not yet recommended for clinical practice (Brouwer et al., 2010). Blood cultures and skin biopsy have been used to detect causative pathogens in patients when cerebrospinal fluid cultures are negative or unavailable, but these tests are not definitive enough to be used
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