Question:
Hi my name is Annabel and I am 20 years old and I am writing to you to say that does meningitis occur when the weather temperature is below 0 degrees celicious like in really cold countries because I live in Perth western Australia and it gets hot and in winter it gets cold but do you pick up brain virus in really cold weather if you could write to me my e-mail address is annabel123@optusnet.com.au
Answer:
Dr Scott Hackett says:
Annabel a very interesting question. Meningitis and meningococcal disease (MCD, both meningitis and septicaemia (blood infection) are more frequent during the winter months in the northern and southern hemispheres. These winter peaks, still present are however no longer as striking as before (see link to Health Protection agency website).
The same predominance in winter is true for all types of bacterial meningitis except that seen in young babies (not viral). Why meningitis occurs more frequently during the winter, when the weather is cold and often wet is complex. In Africa, the periodic epidemics of meningococcal meningitis have been linked to both cold and hot weather systems. When associated with hot weather they are also associated with very dry conditions which is thought to lead to damage / disruption of the oro-pharynx (throat, tonsils etc) where the bacteria that cause meningitis occur allowing them to penetrate into the blood. MCD has been associated with recent ‘flu' and other viral throat infections, which again are thought to subtly alter a patient's oro-pharyngeal ‘immunity'. Smoking, overcrowding, and mixing in student bars have all been associated with increased rates of MCD and meningitis. This may be due to altered oro-pharyngeal immunity, increased transmission of the bacteria that cause meningitis or increased rates of ‘colds'.
Therefore, in answer to your question, you are more likely to get MCD or meningitis when the weather turns cold, even in Australia but need to bear in mind that meningitis is still an uncommon disease. In the UK which has amongst the highest rates of MCD cases per head of population amongst developed countries we see less than 2 cases per 100,000 people per year.
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