Meningitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the membranes of the brain which are called as meninges. This inflammatory disease also affects the cerebrospinal fluid the surrounds the brain and the spinal cord gradually as the infection spreads. According to the cases that were recorded in the past, the disease mainly hit the children who were below 5 years. These days, Meningitis is less pronounced in the children because of the availability of the vaccines. These days they commonly affect the people between the age of 15 to 24. This is also because, the older people are more vulnerable to the disease than the younger ones. Meningitis is one of the major diseases in the world.
One of the biggest causes of Meningitis is infection by virus. But the infection can also be caused by bacteria, and fungus. The bacterial meningitis is more severe than the viral meningitis and therefore requires timely treatment. If it is left unattended it can be really fatal. Acute bacterial meningitis occurs when there is a bacterial infection in the bloodstream and the bacteria enters the brain and then the spinal cord.
The bacteria mainly enter the blood stream through a sinus infection, skull infection or ear. The bacterial strains like Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenzae and Listeria monocytogenes are the types of bacteria which cause the disease.
The Viral meningitis is a milder version and automatically heals within 10 days. The enteroviruses are the most common types of viruses which cause the disease. Some of the most detectable signs and symptoms of meningitis caused by virus are sore throat, rash, headache and joint aches. Even the viruses which are associated with herpes infection, mumps, and West Nile virus can also cause the disease. Chronic meningitis is also one of the forms which and this is caused by the infection of the brain membranes and fluids by infection from the invading microorganisms which gradually grow in the brain tissues. Fungal meningitis is rare and one of its types is Cryptococcal meningitis and it mainly affects people who have immune deficiencies.
The treatment of meningitis that is caused by bacteria might include intravenous antibiotics but that again is specific to the type of bacteria. An analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid can help in the bacterial identification. Antibiotics are not effective against viral meningitis, but in most of the cases the condition improves within 10 days without any external treatment.
For more information you can check out the page on Medicare.
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