...Meningitis BACTERIAL MENINGITIS April 18, 2012 What is meningitis? Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as MENINGES. People sometimes refer to it as spinal meningitis. Etiology Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or bacterium is important because the severity of illness and the treatment differ. “In the United States, about 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis, including 500 deaths, occurred each year between 2003–2007”. (Thigpen MC, Whitney CG, Messonnier NE, Zell ER, Lynfield R, Hadler JL, 2011). Meningitis can be caused by a variety of organism, but bacterial meningitis is caused by three bacteria with complex code names: 1. Haemophilus influenzae type b, (Hib) 2. Pneumococcus (noo-muh-KAHK-us) 3. Meningococcus (meh-NIN-juh-KAHK-us) Hib goes for the 2 month olds to 3 year olds. Pneumococcus hits infants, toddlers, and elderly people hardest. Meningococcus targets children younger than 1 year old. Cause Before the 1990s, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but new vaccines being given to all children as part of their routine immunizations have reduced the occurrence of invasive disease due to Haemophilus influenzae. (www.cdc.gov, 2010) Hib meningitis can cause: pneumonia, and throat swelling, and can literally infect the blood, bones, joints, and the...
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...Bacterial Meningitis Meningitis is a bacterial infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges). Meningitis can be acute, with a quick onset of symptoms, it can be chronic, and lasting a month or more, or it can be mild or aseptic. Acute bacterial meningitis is the most common form of meningitis.Meningitis is a disease that can be passed from person to person (contagious). It is caused most often by viruses or bacteria that infect the tissues, meninges and sometimes the fluid (cerebral spinal fluid, or CSF) that surround the brain and spinal cord. Organisms that cause meningitis can be passed from one person to another or passed from rodents and insects to people. But exposure to an organism that causes meningitis does not mean you will get the infection. During birth, a mother can pass organisms that cause meningitis to her baby even if the mother does not have symptoms. Delivering a baby by cesarean section rather than through the birth canal does not always protect the baby from getting the infection. Both bacteria and viruses can be transmitted this way. Through stool, stool could have enteroviruses or certain types of bacteria in it. Washing hands on a regular basis can help prevent you and your children from getting infected this way. More children than adults get meningitis this way. Through coughing and sneezing. Infected people can pass certain bacteria that are normally found in saliva or mucus in their noses and throats. Through kissing...
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...INTRODUCTION Bacterial meningitis is characterized by inflammation of the meninges, the membranes lining the brain and spinal cord. In a recent survey by the Hib and Pneumococcal Working Group, the incidence of meningitis in 2000 varied from regions across the world. The overall incidence of pneumococcal meningitis was 17 cases per 100,000, with the highest incidence in Africa at 38 cases per 100,000 and the lowest incidence in Europe at 6 cases per 100,000. The overall death rate was 10 cases per 100,000. The highest death rate was 28 cases per 100,000 in Africa, and the lowest death rates were 3 cases per 100,000 in Europe and Western Pacific regions. (Hom, 2009) Bacterial meningitis more frequently occurs in black and Hispanic children. This is thought to be related to socioeconomic rather than racial factors The brain and spinal cord are remarkably resistant to infection, but when they become infected, the consequences are usually very serious. Infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and occasionally protozoa or parasites. The most common type of CNS infection is Bacterial Meningitis which is characterized by inflammation of the meninges, the membranes lining the brain and spinal cord. (Hom, 2009. Almost any bacteria entering the body can cause meningitis. The most common are meningococci (Neisseria meningitidis), pneumococci (Streptococcus pneumonia), and Haemophilus influenza. Thtese organisms are often present in the nasopharynx. S. pneumonia and N....
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...Bacterial Meningitis 1 Running head: THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROBLEM OF BACTERAIL MENINGITIS The Epidemiological Problem of Bacterial Meningitis: Risk Factors, Interrelatedness, Impact and Prevention Mandy Stocks University of South Carolina Spartanburg Bacterial Meningitis 2 The Epidemiological Problem of Bacterial Meningitis: Risk Factors, Interrelatedness, Impact and Prevention Bacterial meningitis is an inflammatory condition of the meninges or membranes that form the lining of the brain and spinal cord. The most common pathogens responsible for bacterial meningitis include: Neisseria memingitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Listeria monocytogenes. The disease in all ages continues to be a serious cause of morbidity and mortality, despite the introduction of effective antibiotics and preventative therapy. Bacterial meningitis is a serious disease that can result in brain damage and even death. The following will describe the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis and the effects it has on the individual, family and community, and the role of the community health nurse. Epidemiological Problem Description of problem Bacterial meningitis is a common infectious disease that has been diagnosed throughout the world. In general, it affects the very young and the very old and favors males over females. “According to the Centers for Disease Control...
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...At the age of two months old my brother was diagnosed with meningitis in the year of 1978. He had a fever of 104.0 and was taken to St.Christopher’s hospital but then after a few hours was released by staff, stating there was nothing more that they could do. My mother then took him to CHOP Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia where they immediately started running test on him. The results were in. the doctor’s had concluded that he had a rare case of meningitis, and would need to stay in the hospital for a while before they could find a cure or treatment. In the mean time the staff did everything they could to break the fever, and once it was broken they realized something. My brother wasn’t making any sounds or noises even when they called his name. The social worker came into the room, and spoke to my mother regarding our experience at St.Christopher’s hospital.She was told to speak to a lawyer at once to take legal action for the safety of her child. My mom was grateful to the staff and she thanked them for saving my brothers life. The Er nurses and doctors explained to us that he would have died if he hadn’t come to the Er the time that he did. This is a very serious condition and at this time very less about it was known. Several weeks later the fever finally dropped and stabilized but his hearing was lost. This was such a big transition for us to adjust to but, without knowing how we were going to communicate...
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...INTRODUCTION Review of Related Literature Pneumonitis Pneumonitis is a general term that refers to inflammation of lung tissue. It occurs when some irritating substance – solid particles, liquids, gases, radiation or bacteria – cause the tiny air sacs to become inflamed. This can hamper the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air sacs. Pneumonia is one type of pneumonitis caused by an infection. There are several types of pneumonitis. They include: • Aspiration pneumonitis- occurs when you inhale (aspirate) foreign matter into your lungs. Stomach contents, such as ingested food or liquid, are a frequent cause of aspiration pneuomonitis. Accidental inhalation of small particles, such as tiny pieces of peanuts or vegetables, while swallowing is common in young children. • Chemical pneumonitis- is a type of aspiration pneumonitis that develops when you inhale chemicals that are toxic to your lungs. Industrial and household chemicals, such as chlorine gas, ammonia, solvents and pesticides can all cause chemical pneumonitis. • Hypersensitivity pneumonitis- is nicknamed “farmer’s lung,” “mushroom picker’s disease” and other colorful names with good reason. Dust from animal dander, molds and plants, all potential allergens, can provoke an inflammatory reaction in your lungs. Symptoms usually develop within six hours of exposure to the allergen. Some people are more susceptible to developing hypersensitivity pneumonitis than are others, although it’s...
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...prevention of meningitis. It discusses the different and most effective ways to diagnose meningitis, such as lumbar puncture, blood cultures, computed tomography, and electronic resonance imaging. Evaluation of the cerebrospinal fluid is the key element in diagnosing meningitis. This article also points out that it is important to start therapies as soon as possible while waiting for the scan results, blood cultures, and lumbar puncture. It is suggested to start antimicrobial therapy or concomitant dexamethasone based on the patient’s history and physical exam, and what type of meningitis is suspected. It is extremely important to determine whether the meningitis is bacterial or aseptic, because bacterial meningitis is life threatening. The mortality rate in adults with bacterial meningitis in developed countries is 21 percent, and in children it is 3 percent. (Bamberger, 2010) In this article we are given a rundown of the common symptoms of bacterial meningitis such as fever, neck stiffness, nausea, headache, altered mental status, seizure, and papilledema. It also states that there are conjugate vaccines available to help with prevention of bacterial meningitis. These include meningococcal, pneumococcal, and H. influenzae vaccines. This article was educational for me because it gives you information that is important to know about meningitis that most people may not know. I now know what signs to look for in my children if they were to ever contract meningitis. The implications...
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...In September 2012 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of patients being diagnosed with fungal meningitis. After investigation the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration were able to trace the outbreak to contaminated preservative free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) epidural steroid injections that had been made at the New England Compound Center (NECC), in Framingham, Massachusetts. In total 753 cases were reported across 20 states, and 64 patients died. The majority of patients received spinal injections of the MPA that had been infected with the fungus Exserohilum rostratum, a common dermatiacious mold that is found in soil, plants and grasses and is rarely pathogenic in humans. (MMWR). This outbreak brought...
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...for Hajj Pilgrims Even before few years, the fully Halal meningitis vaccine was a dream for the Muslim world but now it’s a reality. The long waited Halal meningitis vaccine named ‘Menveo’ is now available worldwide. Many Muslim countries including the Saudi Arabia has approved it and many have instructed to replace the previously used one with this Halal vaccine. According to the available information meningitis vaccine earlier produced, contained materials of bovine or porcine origin. Due to this reason the Muslims had been complaining against those vaccines and pressuring for producing completely Halal vaccine from Halal ingredients. Due to this demand from the Muslim world an ‘apparently Halal’ vaccine was produced named Mencevax. It is alleged that Mencevex even used porcine ingredients at manufacturing stage but the finished product could be made porcine free with the blessings of latest scientific technologies. Nevertheless to say that Bangladesh is still using this ‘apparently halal’ vaccine though completely halal vaccine is available in the market. However, the government is under pressure to use halal vaccine especially for the hajj pilgrims. The Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has recently forwarded a letter to the ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 19 March 2012 (Ref.: nve/ ¯^vcKg/†gwbbRvBwUR/cÖ`vb/2012/137) and urged the government to take necessary measures to collect halal meningitis vaccine for the hajj pilgrims. It should be mentioned...
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...the drug Trovan (trovafloxacin), by Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company. Pfizer held clinical trials of the drug in Kano, Nigeria, during the 1996 epidemic of bacterial meningitis. The experiments were conducted on 200 children and were said to be successful. Recently, 30 Nigerian families of the children used in the experiments filed a lawsuit against Pfizer claiming they had violated laws by not obtaining permission from the families. (Reliefweb) This lawsuit is unprecedented. I believe Pfizer handled this experiment with good intentions and the press, namely the Washington Post, has unfairly portrayed them. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently restricted the use of the antibiotic, Trovan, after it has been proven to cause liver failure and a small number of deaths when prescribed for many types of infections. Doctors were warned to reserve the use of Trovan for use only in the treatment of patients who meet very specific requirements. (Branch Law) Although it is harmful when used for certain ailments, Pfizer reports that Trovan has proven to be effective in treating meningococcal meningitis. This was determined during the experiments in Nigeria which were supervised by both American and Nigerian doctors. (Pfizer) This experiment took place in Africa because of its recurring meningitis epidemic, which kills thousands of people. Pfizer took the opportunity to compare Trovan with ceftrixone, which was the commonly used drug at the time, to prove its effectiveness...
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...laboratory findings would be consistent with this etiology? 1. M.G. has signs and symptoms of 104º F fever, lethargy, headache, and stiff neck. These are all of the common signs of meningitis. Meningitis is often mistaken for the flu, which could cause further complications with the infection. There are three different types of meningitis: bacterial, viral, chronic, and fungal. Bacterial meningitis can be cause by a strain of bacteria entering the bloodstream and traveling to the spinal cord or meninges of the brain. Also bacterial meningitis can result from ear or sinus infection and/or skull fractures. Rarely this type of meningitis can be caused by infection preceding a surgical procedure. The most common types of bacterial strains include: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenzae, and Listeria monocytogenes. Viral meningitis is usually last a short period of time and can disappear on its own. The virus that is usually spread in this instance in the US is enteroviruses. Chronic meningitis is caused by slow-growing organisms intrude into the area around the brain including the fluid and membranes. Lastly, fungal meningitis is the least common form of meningitis and is usually caused by a strain of fungus called Cryptococcal meningitis. This form of meningitis cannot be transferred from person to person but usually is associated with patients that have weak immune systems. Just from the signs and symptoms it would be hard to pinpoint...
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...Journal Article Critique According to Bamberger, D. (2010)," bacterial meningitis in the United States remains a medical emergency with a prospective for high morbidity and death even though the annual incidences are declining. With the increased use of conjugate vaccines, the yearly occurrence of bacterial meningitis in the United States dropped from 1.9 to 1.5 cases per 100,000 people between 1998 and 2003, with overall death rate of 15.6%". The age, immunosuppression and neurosurgical procedures add to the like hood of infection from specific pathogens. In people with community-acquired meningitis, aseptic meningitis is a lot more frequent than bacterial meningitis. At least 96% of children with cerebrospinal fluid exocytosis have aseptic meningitis. In adults, the incidence of aseptic meningitis is 7.6 cases per 1000,000 people and most common etiologies are enterovirus, HSV, and varicella-zooster virus infections (Bamberger, 2010). According to Bamberger, D. (2010), "in adults with community-acquires bacterial meningitis, 25% have recent otitis or sinusitis, 12% have pneumonia, and 16 % are immunocompromised". Fever, neck stiffness and altered mental statues are present in 99% to 100% of patients with meningitis. Of the patients that have meningococcal meningitis 63 % of them have a rash that is petechial. Pneumococcal meningitis is more likely than meningococcal meningitis to be associated with seizures, focal neurologic findings, and altered consciousness...
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...CASE STUDY #9 1. The organism that is causing this disease is Haemophilus influenzae. This bacteria is this because meningitis would mean the doctor believed the disease was an infection affecting the nervous system. All of the gram negative diseases that affect the nervous system are Haemophilus influenzae, Mycobacterium leprae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Treponema pallidum. The organism cannot be Neisseria meningitides because it has diplococci. Mycobaacterium leprae doesn't stain with gram stain but rather stains with carbol fuchsin as well as it takes several weeks for the sample to mature or the bacteria to grow. Trponema palladium also needs a special stain like deterle stain. Haemophilus influenzae on the other hand can be .2 to .8 um and can be long like worms or even dots. The bacteria grew in both the blood agar and the chocolate agar because it grows when it has factors that are present in blood which is an agar at 80 degrees with blood added in. 2. Yes knowing that the child is unvaccinated really helps in knowing the diagnosis because a normal Hib Vaccination would have prevented Haemophilus influenza and all of the infections caused by it. Haemophilus Influenzae Type B is what Hib stands for and is usually given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and one year. If the child had received these vaccinations the child would not have the bacteria in their system. 3. The resin the CSF is cloudy is that when there is an infection in the body, like Haemophilus influenza...
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...Meningococcal disease, also known as meningitis, is caused by the bacteria known as Neiserria meningitids, and is one of the leading causes of bacterial meningitis worldwide. Outbreaks of this disease are rare in the United States but are very common along an area of sub –Saharan African called the African Belt. The African Belt stretches from the Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east with 26 countries involved where it contains the highest rates of the disease. (Who, 2015). Neiserria meningitids is carried in the throat and is transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from carriers. It is secreted from prolonged kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone or by living in close quarters. There is an incubation period of about 4 days before symptoms start to occur. Symptoms of meningitis include a stiff neck, high fever, confusion, headaches vomiting, and sensitivity to light. Meningococcal disease can be a potentially fatal disease if not treated right away. Patients must have a lumbar puncture performed so that spinal fluid can be examined and antibiotics, such as penicillin and ceftriaxone must be given as soon as possible. Sometimes the infection can be severe enough that death or serious long term problems can occur. About 11 to 19 out of every 100 survivors will have long term disabilities such as loss of limb, deafness nervous system problems or brain damage. (CDC, 2015). Meningococcal disease...
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...Líquido cefalorraquídeo (LCR): Análisis e interpretación Gen: • El LCR es un líquido claro como cristal de roca que baña al cerebro y la médula espinal circulando por los ventrículos cerebrales y el canal medular y se almacena en las cisternas cerebrales. Volumen total del LCR 150 mL (intraventricular 20-30 mL) La coloración de GRAM está siempre indicada en caso de sospecha de meningitis (sensibilidad de 60-90 % para una meningitis bacteriana). pH normal: 7.31-7.43. LDH normal: 20 U/L ADA normal: 0.4-1.0 U/L (si > 9, menigitis tuberculosa) Normal agua limpida 70-180 0-5 Linfo GRC 25-10’000 Proteínas [mg/dL] Lactato [mmol/L] Glucosa [mg/dL] [mmol/L] • • • • Dg: LCR Aspecto Presión [mm H2O] Leucocitos [106/L] Meningitis bacteriana turbio Meningitis viral clar - amarillento Nal principio: GRC, luego Linfo >> 100 , pero < 200 N- Meningitis tuberculosa claro, (amarillo) Linfo 25-1000 L 15-45 1.5-1.9 45-80 : 50-1500 45-500 < 45 N N N 9-45 0.5-2.5 2.5-4.4 < 2.5 (> 60 % de la glucemia) 120-130 N- Cloro [mmol/L] Esquema: Interpretación del LCR. GRC = Granulocitos; Linfo = Linfocitos Punción lumbar (PL) Nota: Análisis del líquido cefalorraquídeo, véase arriba Act: L3 L4 Palpación de la espina ilíaca superior posterior (da ± el nivel L3/4) L4 L5 L5 L4 L3 10-20° Esquema: Lugares de punción para una PL. Las flechas ilustran los espacios intervertebrales propicios a la PL (L 3-4 o L 4-5). En línea vertical de la espina...
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