Health Zone: Meningitis; Causes and How They’re Spread (Must Read)

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that surround your brain and spinal cord. These membranes are called meninges, giving the illness the name “meningitis.” Bacterial meningitis is just one type of meningitis. There are also viral and fungal forms of the disease. Viral meningitis is the most common form of meningitis, while bacterial is the most serious form. Without treatment, the bacterial infection could cause you to become paralyzed, have a stroke, or even die. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Disease (NFID), meningitis can cause severe, life-threatening damage in as little as two days.

How meningitis is spread:

The bacteria that cause meningitis can live both in your body and the environment around you. In many cases, they don’t do any harm. But sometimes the bacteria travel through your bloodstream to your brain and spinal cord and start an infection. This is when bacterial meningitis occurs.

The viruses and bacteria that cause meningitis can be spread through:

• sneezing
• coughing
• kissing
• sharing utensils, cutlery and toothbrushes

The infection is usually spread by people who carry these viruses or bacteria in their nose or throat, but aren’t ill themselves.

Most of the bacteria that cause this form of infection are spread through close personal contact, such as coughing, sneezing, and kissing. Throat secretions from an infected person (for example, phlegm or saliva) contain bacteria. When you cough or sneeze, the bacteria travel through the air. But most of the germs that can lead to bacterial meningitis are relatively noncontagious. In fact, the bacteria that cause meningitis are less contagious than the viruses that cause the cold or flu.