Essay on Neisseria Meningitis: Deadly Pathogen-Host Interaction

Introduction

Neisseria meningitis is a causative agent of meningococcal pathogenic infection (meningitis) that affects the meninges in the human body. It is life-threatening sepsis with another name for this pathogenic agent being meningococcus. This bacterium is a threat to human life as the infection can kill within twenty-four hours from the time of contact. The pathogen-host interaction, in this case, yields a complicated meningococcal condition, which can result in the death of the host organism within a day due to the attack on the cerebral part of the human body (Agier et al. 104). Therefore, this research paper focuses on comprehensive details concerning Neisseria meningitis in terms of the symbiotic relations with the hosts, entry and exit points into such hosts, mode of transmission, signs, and symptoms, virulence, stages of infection, epidemiology, concerns for treatments and the new therapies introduce to suppress and treat the spread of this infection.

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Symbiotic Relationship between the Microbes and Host

The susceptible hosts of Neisseria meningitis gain some beneficial importance from such bacteria that creates mutual benefit coexistence between the two organisms. As the bacterial gain nutritional benefits and habitat from the host they have attached in, they break down the proteins into amino acids, which are useful for development for the replacement of the human worn out tissues. From such a relationship, both organisms benefit from each other.

Portal of Entry

The Neisseria meningitis enters into the human body through the respiratory systems mainly nose (mucus membrane) and also gains access through the mouth by exchanging saliva with the infected party.

Portal of Exit

The pathogenic infection exits the human body through intestinal structures where it gets absorbed from the bloodstream into the intestines. It is at this point where it then frees the host after the medication process overpowers its activity in the host.

Mode of Transmission

Neisseria meningitis is a highly contagious infection that is easily transmitted from one person to another through saliva or sneezing throat fluid droplets from an infected person. Some of the parameter that accelerates the transmission of the infection are coughing, kissing, or living in a common room with carriers (Rouphael et al. 13).

Symptoms, Signs, and Syndromes

Meningitis manifests itself through a variety of signs in an individual where some of the symptoms are physical. Some of the commonly notice signs are severe, stiff neck condition, headache, nausea and vomiting, high fever, high sensitivity to bright lights, lack of concentration, and loss of sleep (Bouts et al. 1920). The entry of the bacteria into the human body through the saliva and other entry points results in immediate expressions of some signs, which indicates the onset of illness. Some of the main signs, symptoms, and syndromes of this infection are discussed below:

Stiff Neck Conditions

The situation where the patient develops a stiff neck complication occurs due to muscular straining in the neck region. It is caused by rigidity of the vertebrae bones around the neck due to entry of the infection into central nervous system.

Severe Headache

Meningitis is highly associated with the accompaniment of an inflammatory that exposes the patient to acute headaches. The main reason that causes such pains is due to intracranial pressure occurring from neck stiffness. It hence results in the straining of the brain cells, which then leads to the development of severe pains.

Subsequently, meningeal inflammation is another key aspect that causes strong headaches in meningitis patients (Bouts et al. 1919). The inflammation occurs within the shock absorber discs within the meninges hence causing friction among the bones cushioning spinal fluids, which results in acute pains in the head.

Moreover, the infectious process itself if the cause of headaches in the meningitis victims due to body adjustments to pathogenic entry into the system. A bacterial infection in human bodies triggers the body to develop resistance through the production of countering antibodies that enable it in fighting the pathogenic agents. In the process, the body cells strain hence causes the severe headache.

High Fever

The swelling in the brain caused by the meningitis infection is the main cause of high fever on the patients. It results in the brain triggering the heat-regulating organ in the body, which is the liver to generate more heat to be supplied across the body. Due to poor communication between these two organs in the body, it results in the unregulated amount of heat hence causing high fevers on meningitis patients.

Vomiting

Due to the body reacts by producing antibodies to fight the entry of Neisseria meningitis bacterium into the body, it causes the defense system in the body to be weak and hence leading to stomach upsets. The upsets in the stomach, therefore, results in nausea and vomiting among the victims of such a bacterial infection.

Virulence

Neisseria meningitis is a very contagious infection that can gain into new and vulnerable hosts easily and very fast.

Stages of Infection

Neisseria meningitis is a pathogenic infection that attacks the human body through five stages. These stages include the initial incubation stage, prodromal stage, illness stage, decline, and finally, convalescence, which is the last stage (Rouphael et al. 7). They are individually discussed in the following paragraphs:

Incubation

Incubation is the initial stage after the host acquired the infection. The latter stage is normally manifested within the first one week with a few and mild signs and symptoms being prominently pronounced. It is usually visible between 3 to 5 days.

Prodromal

It is among the initial stages of the infection, which is characterized by non-specific features like nausea, headaches, vomiting, and severe neck pains. Some of these signs may persist throughout the entire period of the infection. Once the pathogens gain access to the human bodies, they interfere with the normal human functioning hence retaliate by producing the disease-fighting antibodies resulting in abrupt adjustments within the system where the mainly affected part is the respiratory system.

Illness

It is the situation where Neisseria meningitis infection has completely overwhelmed the antibodies produced to fight it. The general immunity of the body then disintegrates and gives in to the infection. This period is characterized by continuous headaches with stiff necks, which, when not medically attended within some days, it might threaten the life of the host. One of the ways of addressing the matter at this point is through therapies and applications of antimicrobials.

Decline

The decline stage is the deterioration of the pathogenic agents in the human body due to medication. The patients undergoing medical procedures due to Neisseria meningitis stand a higher chance of initiating the healing process since the therapies used for medication reinforce the antibodies in the body to fight the pathogenic agents hence overpowering such bacteria. When the body starts to regain its normal health status, the decline of the pathogenic agents which had invaded the body starts.

Convalescence

After the decline stage of the meningococcal infection, the recovery period entails a series of changes in the human body, which entails relieving pains in the intracranial pressures, which reduces the headaches and other pains experienced in the neck region (Agier et al. 107). The severe headache starts to fade away slowly, and vomiting ceases. It is an important recovery stage that enables the victims to have a completely healthy status with an increase in the number of antibodies in their bodies.

Epidemiology

Neisseria meningitis is, which is a pathogenic infection that has displayed numerous dynamics over the years, which involved changes in structure to avoid adopted therapies. It is, however, the infection that has displayed limited occurrence in the adolescent and elderly populations due to stronger body immunity than in the younger populations.

Frequency of the Disease

Global statistics indicate that the prevalence of Neisseria meningitis is up to a total of 1 million people per year, which represents 14% of the global population (Bouts et al. 1920). The majority of the affected people are living along the meningitis belt of sub-Sahara Africa.

Concerns for Medical Facilities

Due to the impacts caused on the survivors by this pathogenic infection, it has, in the recent past, led to heightening concerns for medical facilities that will be used to fight it from spreading among populations. Some of the severe implications the infection causes on the survivors are loss of hearing ability, brain cell damages, and general disability conditions.

Brain damage is one of the main called for concern that urged the populations to demand the establishments of the medical facility since the prevalence of this implication in the society had risen to an alarming point.

New Therapies and Vaccines Introduced to Fight the Disease

There have been some technological and medical approaches used to fight the occurrence and spread of Neisseria meningitis disease. The causative agents of this bacterial infection had gradually over time develop an antibacterial resistance feature that makes the drugs less active and even ineffective for use hence prompting more research and developments of newer methods of combating such diseases. The development of newer antimicrobial vaccines has enhanced prevention and treatment of the infection to a greater percentage since the current prevalence indicates that the spread of this pathogenic infection has greatly decreased after the invention and adoption of such therapies (Bouts et al. 1920). The majority of the currently used methods of fighting bacterial infections have advanced due to the mutation features by such infections. Some of the commonly used anti-inflammatory therapies and antimicrobial approaches in fighting Neisseria meningitis are:

Carbapenem

Meropenem, which is a beta-lactam, is the currently and effectively used cephalosporin approach in fighting bacterial meningitis across all the populations ranging from pediatrics to the elderly populations in the society. Its efficiency in fighting Neisseria meningitis is based on its broadband characteristics, which offer a wider range of fighting pathogenic infections. This aspect contains nosocomial features that enable it to fight the multi-mutants characteristics of the bacteria.

Fluoroquinolones

The new generation of fluoroquinolone antimicrobials such as sparfloxacin, moxifloxacin, and levofloxacin have contributed in the fight against the spread of Neisseria meningitis due to its adaptation to work under different circumstances. They work to eradicate all forms of pathogenic agents responsible in spreading the infection regardless of their mutation format and styles. The emergence of such new medications ways has seen the prevalence in many societies decrease hence indicating its efficiency while fighting the bacteria that causes the infection.

Streptogramins

It is an antimicrobial element that fights the activity of Neisseria meningitis pathogens in the host by attaching themselves to the active sites of the pathogen and the host's receptor sites hence weakening its activity (Bouts et al. 1920). It is also important as it contains a ribosomal advantage in fighting all a broader spectrum pathogens in the pediatric populations; therefore, making it highly adopted a therapeutic approach of fighting Neisseria meningitis. Therefore, this approach is highly used in fighting this microbial infection among young generations.

Anti-inflammatory...