Meningitis- Oishi Ghosh by Oj Gosh

How was the disease discovered?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-21 20:23:06 UTC

Meningitis was first discovered through an outbreak in Switzerland in 1805. The man who first discovered this disease was named Vieusseux.

What is Meningitis?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-21 21:57:46 UTC

Meningitis is the inflammation of brain and spinal cord membranes, typically caused by an infection, usually caused by a viral infection, but can be bacterial or fungal. It is usually transmitted through air droplets in the air.

Is it a rare disease?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-21 21:59:09 UTC

Yes, it is a rare disease; however, when someone has meningitis it can spread quickly through an area if someone is not vaccinated for it.

What are the symptoms of meningitis?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-21 22:18:55 UTC

Headache
Fever
Stiff Neck
Loss of Appetite
Nausea or Vomiting
Mental Confusion

Are there are any treatments?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-21 22:37:44 UTC

Yes, there are some treatments for meningitis. Such as:
Antibiotics: stops the growth of or kills the bacteria

Ceftriaxone (Rocephin)
Meropenem (Merrem)
Cefotaxime (Claforan)
Cefepime (Maxipime)
Vancomycin (Vancocin)
Ceftazidime (Fortaz)

Steroid: modifies or simulates hormone effects, often to reduce inflammation or for tissue growth and repair

MCV4 is the vaccination in which children can take to avoid getting Meningitis.

When should children be vaccinated?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 00:37:09 UTC

Children should be vaccinated with MCV4 before going into college because children around that age (17-18 years) are more susceptible in getting the disease, but should get the vaccine as earlier as possible.

How many cases of meningitis have been recorded in the US?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 01:24:50 UTC

There have been fewer than 200,000 US cases per year that have been recorded

History of Meningitis

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 01:27:34 UTC

The first Meningitis outbreak was first recorded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1805. Several other epidemics were described in Europe and US shortly afterwards.

Before scientists discovered what Meningitis was, a man named Thomas Willis (1621-1675) described patients with inflammation of the meninges with a continual fever. But the first evidence that linked bacterial infection as a cause of meningitis was written by Austrian bacteriology Anton Vaykselbaum who described meningococcal bacteria in 1887.

Have there been outbreaks of Meningitis other than in the US?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:15:54 UTC

Studies have indicated that there have been several epidemic outbreaks in Africa. The disease is known to exists in the sub-Saharan belt. The attack rate ranges from 100 to 800 per 100,000 population in major African epidemics.

Although scientists don’t understand why there are more outbreaks in Africa it is said that it is because of their medical conditions, demographic conditions, socioeconomic conditions, which includes poor living conditions and overcrowded housing, and lastly, climate conditions which are usually because of drought and dust storms.

Cases in Africa

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:21:23 UTC

Between 1988 and 1997, 704,000 cases and more than 100,000 deaths were reported in Africa, some 20,000 occurring in 1996, the largest epidemic year ever recorded. Between 1998 and 2002, African countries within the meningitis belt reported more than 224,000 new cases of meningococcal disease.

What season does Meningitis usually occur in?

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:21:49 UTC

Meningitis usually occurs during the dry seasons, around December-June, and then subsides during the rainy seasons.

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:36:05 UTC

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:39:54 UTC

Biography

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:42:04 UTC

"MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS." MENINGOCOCCAL MENINGITIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.austincc.edu/microbio/2704w/nm.htm>.

Www.google.com/search?q=Meningitis."Meningitis."Www.google.com/search?q=Meningitis (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 21 July 2016. <https://www.gstatic.com/healthricherkp/pdf/meningitis.pdf>.

"History of Meningitis." News-Medical.net. N.p., 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Meningitis.aspx>.

"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19892131>.

"Meningococcal Disease in Other Countries." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/global.html>.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 Dec. 2015. Web. 21 July 2016. <http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/teen/mening.html>.

ojgosh57 — 2016-07-22 02:45:20 UTC