Meningitis Surfaces Again

By Owen Tran

You've been staying up for two nights straight and sustaining yourself on coffee. You feel a bit feverish, so you swallow a few hundred milligrams of Ibuprofen and retire to your bed. A few hours later, your neck becomes extremely tensed and the light streaming in from the window becomes unbearable. You throw the covers over your head and return to Nappyland. At this point, if you do not seek treatment you can lapse into a coma and eventually suffer from a fatal form of shock. Welcome to the wonderful world of meningitis. The last time meningitis hit the U.S. and other industrial countries was during World War II. Fewer than three cases of endemic meningococcal meningitis appear per 100,000 people in the U.S. every year. However, the organism which causes meningitis is so common to the human body that 2 to 10 percent of people in perfect health carry meningocci bacteria. Most people may have been carriers at some point in our lives. Recently, a case of meningococcal meningitis was reported at Columbia. Meningococcal meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, or the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. A type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis or meningococcus colonizes the lining of the throat. The bacteria is easily transmitted by respiratory secretions. The epithelial lining of the throat prevents the deadly bacteria from entering the bloodstream. Meningitis occurs when the bacteria penetrate the lining and merge the bloodstream. The bacteria then proceed to attack the meninges. The cerebrospinal fluid that floats around the nervous system becomes a culture medium for growing and spreading of the bacteria, causing the inflammation of the meningeal lining.

The inflammation may cause severe headaches. The infected person may even become comatose. Up to 30 percent of meningitis patients suffered from the septic shock of the meningococci slowly dispersing throughout the circulatory system. The bacteria release endotoxins that stimulate the production of proteins, leading to an increase in the permeability of the blood vessels, causing a fatal drop in blood pressure. Survivors often suffer a disfiguring loss of skin and parts of limbs. Left untreated, meningitis is usually fatal. Those infected may suffer from neurological problems of deafness, paralysis, or mental retardation.

Source: Scientific American, November 1994


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From pg. 1+ of The Moment, 7 Dec. 1994