Meningitis

Overview

Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges) caused by bacteria or viruses. Typical symptoms include severe headaches, fever and a stiff neck. It is usually treated with antibiotics and anti-viral medication; some vaccinations (“tick vaccination”) help to prevent infection.

Symptoms

Symptoms

• New and intense headaches
• Fever (often accompanied by chills)
• Stiff neck (head can't bend forward because this stretches the inflamed meninges and is painful)
• Nausea, dizziness and vomiting
• Sensitivity to light and noise
• Double vision, hearing defects
• Disorientation, seizures and paralysis indicate severe inflammation
• Patients who are severely ill have a distinctive, reddish-blue rash (petechiae - caused by bleeding under the skin)

Meningitis caused by bacteria usually starts with a sudden high fever which continues to rise. Meningitis caused by viruses usually has a milder progression.

Complications

• The inflammation can spread to the brain (encephalitis)
• Formation of a brain abscess (pocket of pus)
• Blood poisoning (sepsis)
• Blood clot (thrombosis) in cerebral veins
• Lasting damage such as paralysis, loss of hearing, speech disorders, personality changes (behavioural disorders), epilepsy

Causes and treatment

Causes

Bacteria: transmitted by droplet infection (coughing, sneezing)

• Meningococci
• Pneumococci
• Haemophilus influenza type B
• Streptococci

Other triggers include a number of viruses, and very seldom also fungi or parasites.

Further treatment by your doctor / in hospital

Possible tests

• Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (search for bacteria and inflammatory markers)
• Blood test (search for bacteria)
• CT scan (computed tomography)
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Possible therapies

• Antibiotics (for bacteria)
• Anti-viral medication

What can I do myself?

Prevention

There are vaccinations against some meningitis pathogens:

• Meningococci (recommended for persons with a weakened immune system)
• Haemophilus influenza type B (included in the Swiss vaccination schedule)
• Pneumococci (recommended for older people and persons with a weakened immune system)
• Flu
• TBE (tick-borne encephalitis vaccination, “tick vaccination”)

When to see a doctor?

In case of the simultaneous occurrence of the following symptoms:

• New and intense headaches
• Fever
• Stiff neck (head can't bend forward)

Further information

www.bag.admin.ch

Synonyms

brain fever, tick vaccination, meningitis and encephalitis, TBE, flu, antibiotics, abscess, sepsis, epilepsy