Facts on Bacterial Meningitis

1. Potentially Deadly

Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the fluid that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. Meningitis comes in two flavors: viral and bacterial. Bacterial infections are the more serious. The symptoms of meningitis are a severe headache, difficulty thinking, a high fever, seizures, vomiting and disorientation.

2. The Three Bacteria

There are three bacteria responsible for most of the cases of bacterial meningitis. These are Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae. In order to find out which bacteria have caused a particular infection, a patient must undergo a lumbar puncture. This is a procedure where a doctor inserts a needle between the backbones, through the ligament over the spinal canal and into the space where meningeal fluid circulates. Some of the fluid is drawn off, submitted for microscopic examination and then cultured. While looking at the fluid often gives a clue as to the type of infection, the culture is considered the "gold standard."

3. Treat it or Die

Bacterial meningitis has the potential to be lethal. Even if they survive, untreated patients may have significant neurological deficits. These include ataxia or difficulty walking, seizures, retardation, hearing loss and muscle spasticity. While meningitis is not terribly common in the United States, in equatorial Africa it produces 250,000 to 500,000 cases per year with an overall mortality rate of roughly 10 percent.

4. Catch This One Early

The key to treating bacterial meningitis is making an early diagnosis and using the correct antibiotics. In infants and younger patients, early diagnosis is difficult because these patients may have less obvious symptoms and lack the verbal skills to describe symptoms. After a culture is obtained, it is much easier to make a decision regarding what antibiotic to start. It is not appropriate to wait the 48 to 72 hours until culture results are available. Consequently, doctors will usually begin potent antibiotics that cover all possibilities. This usually means starting three different antibiotics.

5. Prevention Is Possible

Fortunately, there are now vaccines available against most strains of bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis. Where the vaccines are widely used, the incidence of disease has fallen dramatically. The drop in rates of disease occurrence is a great tribute to the value of vaccination programs. Tragically, some parents elect to keep their children from participating in these programs. Their decision to do so may be because they have not seen first hand the disease's devastation.