If you live in Nigeria, chances are you’ve recently been hearing a lot about cerebrospinal meningitis. This is because we are currently experiencing an epidemic of sorts which is still somewhat localized to the North eastern part of the country, however given the nature of the illness, it is highly likely to spread around the country if proper measures are not taken.
Unfortunately hundreds of deaths have already occurred and in order to minimise further loss of lives it is important for everyone to stay informed and at high alert.
Here are a few things you need to know.
What is meningitis?
Meningitis is an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. It is usually caused by an infection with a virus or a bacterium. Sometimes it can also be caused by certain drugs and even cancer. But the most common and worrying cause for us is the one caused by bacteria, and there are different types of bacteria too.
Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or a bacterium is important because of differences in the seriousness of the illness and the treatment needed.
Where is bacterial meningitis found?
Bacterial meningitis is all over the world, but it is more common in certain countries in sub-saharan Africa referred to as the meningitis belt which extends from Senegal to Ethiopia and includes Nigeria.
The bacteria can be found living harmlessly in a person’s mouth and throat. In rare instances, however, they can bypass the body’s immune defenses and travel to the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. There they quickly begin to multiply, causing the the thin membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord (meninges) to become swollen and inflamed, leading to the classic symptoms of meningitis.
How do people get bacterial meningitis?
The bacteria are spread by direct close contact with the discharges from the nose or throat of an infected person. Fortunately, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are very contagious, and they are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.
What are the signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis?
Common symptoms are high fever, headache, and stiff neck. These symptoms can develop over several hours, or they may take 1 to 2 days. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, confusion, and sleepiness. In advanced disease, there is a characteristic rash that occurs.
In newborns and infants, the typical symptoms of fever, headache, and neck stiffness may be hard to detect. Other signs in babies might be inactivity, irritability, vomiting, and poor feeding. Also because babies are unable to communicate, it may be a little tricky to detect a problem. So if a baby is crying constantly and refusing to feed, best thing to do is to take the child to a hospital so at the very least a blood test can be done to rule out infection.
As the disease progresses, patients of any age can have seizures. Another thing to note is that in babies seizures may not be very obvious, they may not have shaking of the whole body but instead may have constant upward eye rolling of the eyes or twitching of the limbs, so always be on the look out for such symptoms.
How can bacterial meningitis be prevented?
Vaccines — There are vaccines against many of the organisms which can cause bacterial meningitis. However some of them can only be effective after the child is 2yrs or older.
Disease reporting — Cases of bacterial meningitis should be reported to state or local health authorities so that they can follow and treat close contacts of patients and recognize outbreaks.
Treatment of close contacts — People who are identified as close contacts of a person with meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis can be given antibiotics to prevent them from getting the disease. Close contacts would include people living in the same house, attending the same class in school, or medical personnel caring for a patient with meningitis.
Once again, good personal hygiene has a role to play in preventing spread of this disease and overcrowding can also increase rate of spread, so now would probably not be the best time to attend church camps and other events with large numbers of people in close contact.
Unfortunately, meningitis can have some really catastrophic complications if not caught and treated in good time, the good news is that there is treatment available so report any suspicious symptoms to a health centre as soon as you notice them.
