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Meningitis, is an inflammatory condition of the meninges or membranes that form the lining of the brain and spinal cord.

At any given time in the UK, one person in ten will be carrying the bacteria which can cause meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia.  We carry them in the back of our nose and throat without ever realising they are there.  However, in a few people the bacteria overcome the body’s immune defences and pass through the lining of the nose and throat into the blood stream.  Once in the blood, they can cause two types of infection; meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.

There are two classifications : Pachymeningitis involves the outermost membrane, and Leptomeningitis, which affects the pia mater and arachnoid. Pachymeningitis is generally caused by trauma or by extension of infection by micro organisms from the middle ear, mastoid process of the skull, ethmoid sinuses or the frontal sinuses. Leptomeningitis, which is much more common, may be caused by extension of inflammation from the nasopharynx; invasion of the meninges, through the bloodstream, or by many viruses and bacterial micro organisms, such as those that cause pneumonia.

Meninogococcal meningitis, or epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, is an infectious specific disease that attacks the upper respitory system and the meninges, especially those of children and young adults, particularly where many people are living together, such as in a school dormitory or in an army barracks. It is caused by the meniningococcus, Neisseria Meningitis, which was isolated in 1887 by the Austrian doctor Auton Weichselbaum. The disease is almost worldwide in distribution, but it is most common in northern temperate regions. Epidemics have occurred periodically. Most recently in 1995 in the UK, deaths from the disease rose to 185 compared with 148 in 1994. From a steady annual figure of around 1,400 cases a year, the preliminary figure for 1995 in the UK stood at 1,800. In 1997 there were over 2,500 reported cases of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia in the UK.  That means that about 4 people in every 100,000 of the population will be affected by meningococcal disease each year.

Most causes of meningitis, particularly those caused by bacteria, have an abrupt onset. Acute meningitis is often preceded by a minor, influenza-like infection or by a sore throat. After one or two days, there is a sudden onset of a severe headache, vomiting, fever, stiff neck, and mental confusion. In severe cases, the patient goes into a coma. The patient may be abnormally sensitive to light. Some infections that cause meningitis, such as meningococcal meningitis, may produce skin rashes. Meningococcal Meningitis and Septicaemia are rare illnesses. The onset can be sudden and the consequences can be rapidly fatal. It is therefore important to be aware of the symptoms.

In small children, meningitis may cause irritability, lethargy, and a loss of appetite. If the onset of meningitis is gradual, the symptoms are similar to those of the acute form, but develop over a period of one or two weeks.

General symptoms include headache, stiff neck, fever, nausea, vomiting, listlessness and irritability, often leading to stupor and coma. It progresses rapidly within the body and may lead to death in as little as 24 to 72 hours if untreated. Early diagnosis is of critical importance. This group of symptoms, particularly the stiff neck - which leads to pain on passive movements of the head - calls for urgent admission to hospital, where the bacterial meningitis will be effectively treated by early administration of antibiotics.

Occasionally, particularly in small children who are not treated early, serious brain damage may result. This may occur when drainage of spinal fluid from the cavities inside the brain is blocked, causing distension of the cavities, pressure on the brain and enlargement of the skull, a condition that is called hydrocephalus.

Tuberculous Meningitis, which is much more common in children than in adults, is usually secondary to tuberculosis of the lungs. This form of meningitis was almost always fatal until the discovery of streptomycin. Since the introduction of this and other antituberculous drugs, many recoveries from the illness have occurred, and the cures have been effected even in recurrent cases.

Viral Meningitis is usually a non-fatal form of infective meningitis. Almost always affecting children, the disease produces symptoms of headache, high fever, vomiting and leg pains. Patients with most types of viral meningitis usually recover spontaneously within one or two weeks.

After Effects

Not every one suffers after effects, and those that do often find they improve or disappear with time.

The list below gives an indication of the range of individual after-effects which people may suffer from :

Physical disabilities and after effects 

• Hearing impairments/deafness/tinnitus. (Can be temporary. A hearing test should be conducted within six weeks after the date of infection. Check with your GP.)
• Loss of sight/changes in eye sight (not necessarily permanent)
• Brain damage 
• Residual headaches
• Stiffness in joints
• Loss of balance, clumsiness or lack of co-ordination
• Fits/epilepsy
• Tissue damage (due to acute septicaemia, skin grafts may be needed)
• Amputation of digits or limbs (due to acute septicaemia)
• Arthritis
• Weakness/paralysis/spasms

• Temper tantrums (in small children)
• Clinginess
• Tiring easily
• Moodiness or aggression
• Depression
• Memory loss, difficulty retaining information, lack of concentration
• Learning difficulties
• Changes in character (in extreme cases)
• Behavioural problems (in extreme cases)