Group items tagged

Non-freshman college students who want to reduce their risk of infection should consider the vaccine also

Meningitis is rare. 

But when it strikes, this potentially fatal bacterial disease can lead to swelling of fluid surrounding the brain and spinal column as well as severe and permanent disabilities, such as hearing loss, brain damage, seizures, limb amputation and even death.

  This can include coughing, sneezing, kissing or sharing items like utensils, cigarettes and drinking glasses.

Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis often resemble the flu and can include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea, vomiting, lethargy and confusion.

Other undergraduates living in College resident halls, who have not been recently vaccinated, should also consider vaccination to reduce their risk for the disease.

The vaccine may be available from health care providers or county health departments.

anticonvulsants might be given for seizures

The vaccines against Hib, measles, mumps, polio, meningococcus, and pneumococcus can protect against meningitis caused by these microorganisms

Bacterial meningitis is rare

caused by bacteria or viruses, but some can be due to certain medications or illnesses

kids may need supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation if they have difficulty breathing.

kids get vaccinated for meningococcal disease when they're 11 years old

If someone develops shock or low blood pressure, additional IV fluids and certain medications might be given to increase blood pressure

Viral meningitis (also called aseptic meningitis

with a booster shot at age 16

Bacterial meningitis complications can be severe and include neurological problems such as hearing loss, visual impairment, seizures, and learning disabilities.

They might simply have extreme irritability, lethargy, or fever. They may be difficult to comfort, even when they are picked up and rocked

s relatively common and far less serious

fever lethargy (decreased consciousness) irritability headache photophobia (eye sensitivity to light) stiff neck skin rashes seizures

those who've had bacterial meningitis should have a hearing test following their recovery

People of any age can get meningitis

The vaccine also might be recommended for kids between 6 weeks and 10 years old who have certain high-risk medical problems, and for people traveling to countries where meningitis is more common

spread among those living in close quarters, teens, college students, and boarding-school students are at higher risk for infection.

The heart, kidneys, and adrenal glands also might be affected, depending on the cause of the infection

If dealt with promptly, meningitis can be treated successfully

get routine vaccinations

know the signs of meningitis

good hygiene is an important

Common symptoms include:

Infants with meningitis may not have common symptoms

if you suspect that your child has the illness, seek medical care right away

Encourage kids to wash their hands thoroughly and often, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom

Avoiding close contact with someone who is obviously ill and not sharing food, drinks, or eating utensils can help halt the spread of germs as well.

Most cases of meningitis — both viral and bacterial — are due to infections that are contagious, spread via tiny drops of fluid from the throat and nose of someone who is infected.

Other symptoms of meningitis in infants can include: jaundice (a yellowish tint to the skin) stiffness of the body and neck fever or lower-than-normal temperature poor feeding a weak suck a high-pitched cry bulging fontanelles (the soft spot at the top/front of the baby's skull)

airborne when the person coughs, laughs, talks, or sneezes.

They then can infect others when people breathe them in or touch the drops and then touch their own noses or mouths

Bacteria and viruses that infect the skin, urinary system, or gastrointestinal and respiratory tract can spread by the bloodstream to the meninges through cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that circulates in and around the spinal cord.

Many different types of bacteria can cause bacterial meningitis

In some cases of bacterial meningitis, the bacteria spread to the meninges from a severe head trauma or a severe local infection, such as a serious ear infection (otitis media) or nasal sinus infection (sinusitis).

Seek medical attention immediately if you suspect your child has meningitis or has symptoms such as vomiting, headache, lethargy or confusion, neck stiffness, rash, and fever

Infants who have fever, irritability, poor feeding, and lethargy should also be assessed by a doctor right away.

Infections most often spread between people who are in close contact, such as those who live together or people who are exposed by kissing or sharing eating utensils. Casual contact at school or work with someone who has one of these infections usually will not transmit the infectious agent.

tends to cause flu-like symptoms

Most cases of viral meningitis resolve completely within 7 to 10 days, without any complications or need for treatment

If your child has had contact with someone who has meningitis (for example, in a childcare center or a college dorm), call your doctor to ask whether preventive medication is recommended

Sharing food, drinking glasses, eating utensils, tissues, or towels all can transmit infection as well. Some infectious organisms can spread through a person's stool (poop), and someone who comes in contact with the stool — such as kids in daycare — may develop the infection.

newborns, the most common causes are Group B streptococcus

In older kids, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) are more often the causes

if you think that your child has any form of meningitis, it's important to see the doctor right away.

Another bacteria, Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), also can cause the illness but because of widespread childhood immunization, these cases are rarer

If meningitis is suspected, the doctor will order laboratory tests to help make the diagnosis, probably including a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to collect a sample of spinal fluid.

many different viruses can lead to viral meningitis

coxsackievirus and poliovirus

, although some kids are allowed to recover at home if they are not too ill. Treatment aimed at relieving symptoms includes rest, fluids, and over-the-counter pain medication.

Someone with viral meningitis may be hospitalized

If bacterial meningitis is diagnosed — or even suspected — doctors will start intravenous (IV

antibiotic

Fluids may be given to replace those lost to fever, sweating, vomiting, and poor appetite.

soon as possibl

Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacteria neisseria meningitidis

ent.  Our universities—many universities have very high coverage with the licensed and recommended vaccine that protects against serogroup C and Y. So we started to see fewer cases of serogroup C and Y meningococcal disease and more cases of serogroup B disease.

Reports of this disease is more common in the winter months.  Typically almost all cases of meningococcal disease are sporadic.  Very few cases occur as part of our -- as part of an outbreak in terms of the total number of cases we see in the United States.  But we do see a couple of meningococcal disease outbreaks typically every year.

Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, which is known as the meninges. 

Septicemia is an infection of the blood stream, and septicemia causes bleeding in the skin and organs and is often when we see complications from meningococcal disease that are not neurologic, it's frequently caused by septicemia.

bout 15 percent of survivors have long term disabilities such as loss of limbs, deafness, nervous system problems, or brain damage.  Early recognition and early treatment of meningococcal disease is key to reduce the long-term sequelae. 

ten difficult to diagnose meningococcal disease because often the first signs and symptoms are similar to the flu

even with antibiotic treatment, people die in about 10 to 15 percent of cases of meningococcal disea

Vaccination is the best way to prevent meningococcal disease when it's a vaccine preventable strain.  Hand washing and covering your coughs or sneezes is also a good practice to follow.  It's critical everybody be aware of the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease and to seek treatment immediately. 

igns and symptoms of meningococcal disease include rapid onset of high fever, headache, and stiff neck.  And when we say headache, we mean it's among the worst headaches that somebody's had in their life.  And with the stiff neck, they really can't move their neck, or they can't, for example, touch their chin to their neck.  Towards their chest, excuse me.  Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light, confusion, exhaustion, and sometimes a rash.

eningococcal bacteria are harder to spread than viruses

don't live long outside the body. 

pread through the exchange of respiratory secretions. 

oommates who spend a lot of time together, are potential close contacts of a case of meningococcal disease.

about 10 percent of people, not just in outbreaks, but all over in the United States, carry these bacteria in the back of their nose or throat and don't ever develop symptoms.  This is known as carriage or being a carrier.

nce a person becomes a carrier, most people develop immunity and the bacteria disappear from their nose and throat and then they're no longer a carrier.  But rarely, the bacteria invades the blood stream and this is what happens when a person develops the disease.

most cases of meningococcal disease appear to be random and aren't directly linked to each other.  Even in the case of an outbreak—the cases are not occurring among close contact with each other, it's happening in an organization or community. 

he most common one circulating in the United States are serogroups B, C and Y. 

e don't have a vaccine in the U.S. licensed to protect against serogroup B, which is the cause of the cases at Princeton University and UC Santa Barbara. 

Cases are reported quickly, meningococcal disease is highly recognized, and reported to health departments. 

CDC defines an outbreak of meningococcal disease of three or more cases in three months that can't be connected to each other.

these outbreaks occur in a certain population, like school or organizations.  Most outbreaks of this disease are self-limited and no more than three or four cases occur.  However, when cases continue to occur over several-month period, like what is happening at Princeton University, intervention is required to reduce the length of the outbreak. 

equesting use of vaccine for additional outbreaks when needed.

Partners are working hard to organize potential serogroup B vaccine campaigns at Princeton University as quickly as possible. 

o there's all sorts of quality things that are happening to make sure that the vaccine arrives and can be used safely and effectively.

Therefore, we are sending out a health alert to providers and state and local health departments, which will hopefully increase awareness for providers to consider meningococcal disease in their differential diagnosis, if a student presents with symptoms from one of these two universities. 

Serogroup is definitely a scientific word to describe the type of capsule around the meningococcal.  You can use the word strain when we describe different serogroups.  The word strain would be the b strain or c strain.  When we're talking about whether or not strains are linked to each other, there we do additional molecular testing which looks at more than the capsule to see if the strains are the same.  For example, we know that the strains that have caused all of the cases in -- at Princeton are identical.  That's what helps us understand if an outbreak is being caused by one strain.  And that doesn't necessarily mean you could have the same serogroup, but the strains could look a little different. 

f anything, it's just sorting reminding people to use good normal hygiene practices, such as washing your hands and coughing and sneezing into your arm.  And sort of having increased awareness for good hygiene practices. 

ases really do occur in this university setting where there's probably a very specific pattern of transmission among college students.  So we really don't have evidence to suggest that kids going home for Thanksgiving will be spreading the strain into those communities. 

here have been seven confirmed serogroup B cases at Princeton University, and one additional case in which additional testing is being conducted right now.  And there are three cases at UC Santa Barbara. 

But more people are carriers than there are actually cases.  I see what your question is, why are we not then worried about it spreading into the community.  We don't have a good -- we don't have a great understanding of the organism and how it spreads.  But what we do understand is that outbreaks really haven’t spread from universities into communities in the past.  There have been community outbreaks of meningococcal disease.  But we haven't seen cases occurring in universities expanding into those communities. 

So in most of our outbreaks, we see about three or four cases occur in a couple of month period of time and then we don't see additional cases.  Depending on the size of the college or organization in which the outbreak is occurring, those attack rates usually range anywhere from 10 to 20 per 100,000.  So one to two cases per 1,000 people at the university. 

Health officials follow up with a patient to see if they've come into close contact and then they recommend preventive antibiotics to close contacts.

The infection can cause the tissues around the brain to swell. This in turn interferes with blood flow and can result in paralysis or even stroke.

Sometimes meningitis occurs for no known reason. Other times it occurs after a head injury or after you have had an infection and your immune system is weakened.

Children between the ages of one month and two years are the most susceptible to bacterial meningitis

higher risk if you abuse alcohol, have chronic nose and ear infections, sustain a head injury or get pneumococcal pneumonia.

Adults with certain risk factors

Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis also occur in living situations where you are in close contact with others, such as college dormitories or military barracks

In older children and adults, you may see confusion, irritability, increasing drowsiness. Seizures and stroke may occur.

become

CDC recommends the meningococcal vaccine

young children,

vomiting and they may refuse to eat.

treated with antibiotics.

In addition to antibiotics, it will be important to replenish fluids lost from loss of appetite, sweating, vomiting and diarrhea

most people recover.

10 percent death rate

Unfortunately, if treatment is not undergone immediately, there may be permanent damage. Seizures, mental impairment and paralysis may be life long.

Anyone who you have had casual contact should not be affected.

a vaccine is available,

most common form

All children and adolescents ages 11 through 18 College freshmen living in dormitories

Anyone with a damaged spleen or who has had his or her spleen removed Anyone who has terminal complement component deficiency (an immune system disorder)

Sudden onset of fever, headache and stiff neck Nausea and/or vomiting Increased sensitivity to light, and/or mental confusion

You should s

Vaccines can prevent some of the bacterial infections that cause meningitis.

eek medical care quickly

A sudden fever A severe headache A stiff neck

Anyone can get meningitis

immunization can go a long way toward preventing meningitis

hould be immunized

meningococcal disease when they're 11 years old, with a booster shot at age 16.

6 weeks and 10 years old who have certain high-risk medical problems, and for people traveling to countries where meningitis is more common.

Many of the bacteria and viruses that cause meningitis are fairly common and associated with other routine illnesses. Bacteria and viruses that infect the skin, urinary system, or gastrointestinal and respiratory tract can spread by the bloodstream to the meninges through cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid that circulates in and around the spinal cord.

4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis,

500 deaths,

within 3-7 days after exposure.

abies younger than 1 month

The most effective way to protect you and your child against certain types of bacterial meningitis is to complete the recommended vaccine schedule.

Age GroupCausesNewbornsGroup B Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenesInfants and ChildrenStreptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae type bAdolescents and Young AdultsNeisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniaeOlder AdultsStreptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Listeria monocytogenes

ually severe.

Bacterial meningitis is us

Meningitis is usually caused by many different viruses and bacteria

Fever and chillsMental status changesNausea and vomitingSensitivity to light (photophobia)Severe headacheStiff neck (meningismus)

Antibiotics do not treat viral meningitis.

Viral meningitis is usually not serious, and symptoms should disappear within 2 weeks with no lasting complications.

If you think that you or your child has symptoms of meningitis, get emergency medical help immediately. Early treatment is key to a good outcome.

Haemophilus vaccine (HiB vaccine) in children helps prevent one type of bacterial meningitis.

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is now a routine childhood immunization. It is very effective at preventing pneumococcal meningitis

acterial meningitis infections are extremely serious, and may result in death or brain damage,

eningococcal vaccination is recommended for:Adolescents ages 11 - 12 and adolescents entering high school (about age 15) who have not already received the vaccination. A booster shot is given between age 16-18.All college freshmen who have not been vaccinated and are living in dorms. Children age 2 and older who do not have their spleen or who have other problems with their immune system.Those traveling to countries where diseases caused by meningococcus are very common (ask your doctor).

eople with cold sores or genital herpes are not at a greater risk of developing herpes meningitis.

AgitationBulging fontanelles in babies Decreased alertnessPoor feeding or irritability in childrenRapid breathing

causes of meningitis are viral infections that usually get better without treatment.

k arched backwards (opisthotonos)

Fast heart rateFeverMental status changesStiff neckIf the hea

Brain damage

Buildup of fluid between the skull and brain (subdural effusion)Hearing lossHydrocephalus

Seizures

Unusual posture, with the head and nec

Meningitis is a bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges)

Meningitis may also be caused by:

Chemical irritationDrug allergiesFungiParasitesTumors

atients having spinal procedures (eg, spinal anaesthetics) are at increased risk and Pseudomonas spp. may then be the cause.

Other risk factors include bacterial endocarditis, diabetes mellitus, alcoholism and cirrhosis, intravenous drug abuse, renal insufficiency, adrenal insufficiency, malignancy (increased risk of listerial infection), hypoparathyroidism, thalassaemia major and cystic fibrosis.

Crowding (eg, military recruits and college students) increases the risk of outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis.

Neonat

fants and young children: H. influenzae type b, if younger than 4 years and unvaccinated; Neisseria me

Hospital-acquired and post-traumatic meningitis

N. meningitidis: usually local outbreaks among young adults

Meningococcal meningitis is endemic in parts of Africa, India and other developing nations.

Neonates are at greater risk of meningitis

ow birth weight (below 2500 g),

premature delivery, premature rupture of membranes, traumatic delivery, fetal hypoxia and maternal peripartum infection.

iral infec

on - eg, mumps, echovirus, Coxsackievirus, HSV and herpes zoster virus, HIV, measles, influenza, arboviruses.[10] 

Fungal infection:

alignant cells (leukaemia, lymphoma, other tumours).

Chemical meningitis (intrathecal drugs, contaminants).

Fever, headache.

tiff neck

Altered mental state, unconsciousness, toxic/moribund state

hock:

Kernig's sign

rudzinski's sign

Paresis, focal neurological deficits

eizures.