Meningitis

• The Disease
  • Types
    • Bacterial meningitis
      • Meningococcal
      • Pneumococcal
      • Hib
      • Group B Streptococcus
      • Tuberculosis Meningitis
      • E.coli
      • Listeria
      • Staphylococcal
    • Viral meningitis
    • Other Forms
  • Personal stories
  • Symptoms
  • After effects
  • Facts and figures
  • Surveillance
  • FAQs
  • Medical Glossary
• The Research
• Help & Advice
• Education

Bacterial meningitis

Bacterial meningitis is life threatening and requires URGENT medical treatment. Someone suffering from bacterial meningitis needs to be treated with antibiotics immediately.

The disease can strike with incredible speed and can kill someone in hours or cause permanent disability such as loss of limbs, blindness, deafness and brain damage. 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.

Bacterial meningitis and septicaemia are caused by bacteria. There are around 50 types of bacteria that can cause meningitis and septicaemia.

The most common forms in the UK are:

• Meningococcal
• Pneumococcal

Other forms which cause disease include:

• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Group B streptococcus
• Tuberculosis meningitis
• E.coli
• Listeria
• Staphylococcal
• Other forms of bacterial meningitis

The bacteria can cause two distinct forms of the disease - meningitis (infection of the meninges that surround the brain) and septicaemia (blood poisoning). Bacterial meningitis and septicaemia can occur together or separately. 

A major problem is that the symptoms of these diseases are often mistaken for the common flu. Usually, the first symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia are classic flu-like symptoms, a fever and headache, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, or aching joints. Signs of meningitis also include stiffness in the neck and an aversion to bright light, whilst the clearest symptom of septicaemia is a pinprick rash which can be identified by the simple tumbler test.

However, many patients show these more specific symptoms too late or not at all, meaning that by the time a patient is diagnosed, it can often be too late to save them. This, in addition to the diesease's incredible speed, is why we believe at Meningitis UK that the only way to truly eradicate it is through prevention.

Read about the vaccines that are available to protect against some types of bacterial meningitis and about disease surveillance and trends.  

Read our list of frequently asked questions about meningitis such as:

• How do people catch bacterial meningitis?
• Why are babies and students more at risk?
• Someone I know is currently in hospital with bacterial meningitis. Am I at risk?