Bacterial Meningitis
Bacterial meningitis can be life threatening and requires URGENT medical treatment.
Someone suffering from bacterial meningitis needs to be treated with antibiotics immediately. The sooner effective treatment is given, the more likely a person is to make a full recovery.
Knowing the symptoms and acting fast can save lives.
What causes bacterial meningitis?
Bacterial meningitis and septicaemia can be caused by different types of bacteria. The most common are meningococcal and pneumococcal.
Meningococcal
Meningococcal infection is caused by meningococcal bacteria (Neisseria meningitidis) which cause two distinct forms of disease - meningococcal meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia. They may occur separately or together. Of the two forms, meningococcal septicaemia is the most dangerous.
Meningococcal bacteria are the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK. Approximately 5% of people who suffer from meningococcal meningitis will die.
Meningococcal bacteria grow in pairs called diplococci often surrounded by a capsule coat. Over a million of these would fit on the head of a pin.
Meningococcal septicaemia occurs when meningococcal bacteria enter the blood stream and multiply uncontrollably, poisoning the blood and completely overwhelming the immune system damaging the blood vessels, tissues and organs.
Approximately 20% of cases will result in death rising to over 50% if the patient develops septic shock prior to receiving medical care.
When meningococcal septicaemia strikes, causing the blood vessels to haemorrhage, the blood circulation does not reach the extremities of the body, ie. hands and feet. In extreme cases, where there is irreversible damage, the only way to save lives is to amputate limbs.
You can check to see if the rash might be caused by meningococcal septicaemia by carrying out the 'Tumbler Test'
The bacteria come in different forms called serogroups which have different capsule coats surrounding them and cause different strains of the disease. There are more than 13 known serogroups of meningococcal bacteria. In the UK, the most common is group B, for which there is still no vaccine. The big challenge that scientists currently face is to find a successful vaccine to protect against all the serogroups.
Pneumococcal
Pneumococcal bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae) which cause ear infections and pneumonia can also cause pneumococcal meningitis, which is the second most common form of bacterial meningitis in the UK. Although pneumococcal meningitis is less common than meningococcal meningitis, it is a lot more life threatening. One in six children who contract pneumococcal meningitis will die and half of those who survive will be left with severe disabilities such as deafness, brain damage and seizures. Pneumococcal meningitis can also be accompanied by septicaemia, the blood-poisoning form of the disease.
Young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of contracting pneumococcal disease.
The good news is a vaccine to protect against pneumococcal infection has recently been introduced into the Childhood Immunisation Programme across the UK.
The pneumococcal bacterium
Other bacteria
Other bacteria which can cause meningitis include Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and E.coli, which account for most cases of meningitis in newborn babies in the UK. Listeria, staphylococcal infections and tuberculosis can also cause meningitis.
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