Meningitis (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Meningococcal disease, Spinal meningitis

Meningitis is inflammation of the thin tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called the meninges. There are several types of meningitis. The most common is viral meningitis, which you get when a virus enters the body through the nose or mouth and travels to the brain. Bacterial meningitis is rare, but can be deadly. It usually starts with bacteria that cause a cold-like infection. It can block blood vessels in the brain and lead to stroke and brain damage. It can also harm other organs.

Anyone can get meningitis, but it is more common in people whose bodies have trouble fighting infections. Meningitis can progress rapidly. You should seek medical care quickly if you have

A sudden fever
A severe headache
A stiff neck

Early treatment can help prevent serious problems, including death. Vaccines can prevent some of the bacterial infections that cause meningitis. Parents of adolescents and students living in college dorms should talk to a doctor about the vaccination.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Start Here

Meningitis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/meningitis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/meningitisspanish/htm/index.htm
Meningitis and Encephalitis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_meningitis/detail_encephalitis_meningitis.htm
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/trastornos/meningitis_y_encefalitis.htm
Meningococcal Disease: Frequently Asked Questions(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/bacterial/faqs.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/bacterial/faqs-sp.htm

Overviews

JAMA Patient Page: Meningitis(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/297/1/122.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/297/1/122/DC1/1
Meningitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/meningitis/DS00118/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Meningitis and Encephalitis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/encephalitis_meningitis/encephalitis_meningitis.htm

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Blood Culture(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/blood_culture/test.html
JAMA Patient Page: Lumbar Puncture(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/296/16/2050.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/296/16/2050/DC1/1
Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/lumbar_puncture.html
Rapid Test Detects Viral Meningitis(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/meningitis051407.html

Prevention/Screening

Meningitis Vaccine: Can Infants Get It?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/meningitis-vaccine/AN01571/METHOD=print
Meningococcal Vaccination(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/
Meningococcal Vaccines(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-mening.pdf
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-PneumoConjugate.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.immunize.org/vis/sppnPCV7.pdf
Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV23)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-ppv.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.immunize.org/vis/sppne97.pdf
Use of Meningitis Vaccine in Persons with Cochlear Implants(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/cochlear/dis-cochlear-gen.htm

Specific Conditions

Acute Bacterial Meningitis(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch089/ch089b.html
Arachnoiditis(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/arachnoiditis/arachnoiditis.htm
Chronic Meningitis(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch089/ch089c.html
Cryptococcal Meningitis(New Mexico AIDS Education and Training Center) - http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/503?lang=eng
Also available in Spanish http://www.aidsinfonet.org/fact_sheets/view/503?lang=spa
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/lcmv/qa.htm
Viral ("Aseptic") Meningitis FAQs(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/viral/viral-faqs.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/viral/viral-faqs-sp.htm

Related Issues

Meningococcal Disease: Health Information for International Travel(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/yellowBookCh4-Menin.aspx

Tutorials

Meningitis(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/meningitis/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/meningitisspanish/htm/index.htm

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Arachnoiditis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Arachnoiditis%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Meningitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Meningitis%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Effect of antibiotic pretreatment on cerebrospinal fluid profiles of children... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18829794&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Central nervous system cryptococcosis in solid organ transplant recipients: clinical... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18791444&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Increase in serum osmolality is possible mechanism for the beneficial... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18776819&tool=MedlinePlus
Meningitis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=meningitis[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

meningococcemia - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=meningococcemia

Organizations

National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov/

Children

Advice for Patients with Cochlear Implants: New Information on Meningitis Risk(Center for Devices and Radiological Health) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/medicaldevicesafety/atp/101007-cochlear.html
Meningitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/meningitis.html
Meningitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/meningitis.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/meningitis_esp.html

Teenagers

Meningitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/bacterial_viral/meningitis.html
Meningococcal Vaccine: A Guide for Teens(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/mening.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Encephalitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encephalitis.html
Brain and Nerves - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/brainandnerves.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Meningitis is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/

Meningitis - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/meningitis.html