Man and Des e a s e

Meni ngi t i s and Pneumoni a

Man and Des e a s e
In the past meni ngi tis and pneumoni a were danger ous and
frequent l y deadl y epidemi c des eas es . Nowdays man has found the
way to deal with thos e deseas e s but they still pres ent the danger to
peopl e, particul arl y in poor and undevel oped count ri es.
Meni ngi t i s
Cous e of des e a s e
Meningitis is an inflammat i on of the lining surroundi ng the
brain and spinal cord. This condition can be caus ed by sever al
different organi s ms such as bact eri a and viruses.
Viral meni ngi t i s is mor e common and usually occurs in the
lat e Summer and early Fall. Somet i mes , abdomi nal discomfor t ,
chest pain, or a rash will be pres ent . The cent r al nervous syst e m
may be involved with possibl e alt er at i on of conscious nes s or
par al ysi s however, thes e mor e serious conditions are infrequent .
Most cases of viral meni ngi tis run a short, unevent f ul cours e. Since
this is a virus !li"e the common cold#, anti biotics are not effective.
$i"ewise, persons who have had cont act with viral meni ngi tis
pati ent s do not requir e any treat me nt .
Bact e r i al meni ngi t i s is a rare diseas e, but can be very
serious and requir es treat me nt with antibiotics. It can occur
spor adi cally throughout the year. %ne form of bact eri al meni ngi tis
is M&NIN'%(%(()$ M&NIN'ITIS. This form can caus e very big
illness. It requir es early diagnosi s and treat me nt . *ntreat ed
meni ngococcal infection can be fat al.
Spread of the des e a s e
)ppro+i mat el y ,- to ./- of the gener al popul ati on carry the
meni ngococcal bact eri a in the nose and throat in a har ml es s st at e.
This carrier st at e may last for days or mont hs and seems to give
those individual s who harbor meni ngococcus in their upper
respirat or y tract some prot ecti on from act ually devel opi ng the
diseas e st at e. Meningi tis also affect s up to .0 per cent of )I1S
pati ent s.
1uring epidemi cs of meni ngococcal meni ngi tis, the carrier
rat e may approach 2,-, yet less than .- may devel op the diseas e.
This low occurr ence of illness aft er e+posur e sugges t s that an
individual 3 s heal t h st at us !the strengt h or wea"nes s of the immune
syst em#, rat her than bact eri al factors, plays an import ant
det er mi ni ng role.
The annual occurr ence rat e of meni ngococcal diseas e in the
*nited Stat es is st abl e at . to 0 per .//, ///. In Illinois, ther e is an
aver age of .// cases per year which includes all age groups.
)verage mort alit y rat es vary bet ween 4- and ./- with early
recogni tion and treat me nt being the cruci al vari abl es.
Deal i ng with des e a s e
&arly diagnosi s is of critical import ance this group of
sympt oms , particul arly the stiff nec"5which leads to pain on
passive moveme nt s of the head5calls for urgent admi ssi on to
hospi t al, wher e the bact eri al meni ngi tis will be effectivel y treat ed
by early admi nist r at i on of anti biotics.
Meningitis can be prevent ed. In cert ai n cases of meni ngi tis it
may be wise to admi ni st er antibiotics to close cont act s of the case
in order to help prevent further cases from occurring. 6hysicians in
charge will decide who shoul d receive the prevent i ve antibiotics.
The use of immuni7at i on agai nst 8)&M%68I$*S INF$*&N9)& Type :
!8I:# has dramat i cally decr eas e d meni ngi tis due to this organi s m.
)ll children shoul d receive the vaccinati on. In addition, cert ai n high;
ris" children should also be immuni7ed agai nst ST<&6T%(%((*S
6N&*M%NI)&.
Pneumoni a
Cous e of des e a s e
6neumoni a is infection of the lung. It can be caus ed by
bact eri a, viruses, parasi t es, and other organi s ms . Infectious
pneumoni a usually is spread by inhal ation of infect ed particl es or
by aspirati on. It rarely can spread through the blood strea m from
anot her infect ed area of the body.
Bact e r i al Pneumo ni a :efore the advent of anti biotics, the
most common caus e of deat h in adult s was lobar pneumoni a, an
acut e infection caus ed by the pneumococcus, a bact eri um formally
"nown as Strept ococcus pneumoni ae. 6neumococcal lobar
pneumoni a oft en occurs in wint er, aft er an acut e viral upper
respirat or y infection.
Viral Pneumo ni a can be caus ed by many different viruses,
including thos e that caus e upper; respir at or y infections, such as the
influen7a virus, adenovirus es, and rhinovirus es. Most cases of
pneumoni a seen today are viral in origin they are usually mild and
resolve spont aneousl y without specific treat me nt .
Mycopl a s ma pne u mo ni a e is caus ed by , a tiny pro"aryotic
organi s m !a single; celled organi s m that lac"s a distinct nucleus#
that is neit her a bact eri um nor a virus. &pidemi cs of mycopl as ma
pneumoni a occur in school s and in the military. The diseas e usually
resolves spont aneousl y, but treat me nt with anti biotics can be
helpful.
Deal i ng with des e a s e
6rompt treat me nt with penicillin can cure pneumococcal
pneumoni a within a few days. In .2== a vaccine that confers
immuni t y agai nst the most virulent forms of pneumococcus was
licens ed. It is now given mai nly to peopl e over the age of ,/ and to
those with chronic heart , lung, or liver diseas e. Most forms of
bact eri al pneumoni a can be effectivel y treat ed with anti biotics.
) vaccine is availabl e to prevent infection caus ed by a
pneumococcal strai n of bact eri a. )n annual flu shot may be helpful
in decr easi ng influen7a; trigger ed pneumoni as. >our doct or can
provide the neces s ar y vaccines for you. %ther prevent at i ve
meas ur es include good medical cont rol of other respirat or y and
sinus probl ems, good hand washi ng, and not smo"ing.
Sourc e s :
(1; Microsoft &ncart a &ncyclopedi a
Internet sites? htt p?@@www. meni ngi ti s. org@
htt p?@@"idheal t h. ur g@ par ent @ common@ me ni ngi ti s. ht ml