Paper Sample on Meningitis: The Risk of an Invading Disease on the Nervous System

Introduction

The main parts of the nervous system that are affected by meningitis disease are the brain and spinal cord (Allen, & Lyons, 2018). Why is meningitis so dangerous? The disease is dangerous since it affects the nervous system which is a crucial part of the body that involves receiving and generating information to the body. Also, the disease invades a person’s body at sheer speed and thus can lead to organ failure hence causing death (Diallo et al., 2017). This can be reflected in the case study where a patient’s condition within a short period.

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What Are the Other Causes/Types of Meningitis?

Other causes of meningitis are: Fungi, viruses (enteroviruses), drug allergies and chemical irritation.

How Are These Different Types of Meningitis Diagnosed? How Does Treatment Differ for Each Type?

The diagnostic test for meningitis are:

• Lumbar puncture: In this test, a doctor collects cerebrospinal fluids and he/she can determine whether the meningitis is viral or bacterial.
• Imaging: Scan is performed via computerized tomography
• Blood culture: this mostly for bacterial meningitis where blood is placed in special dish and micro-organisms are observed via microscope (Diallo et al., 2017).

The treatment of meningitis differ since bacterial is treated via antibiotic drugs, viral is treated by antiviral drugs and fungal is treated with antifungal drugs (Allen, & Lyons, 2018).

Describe a Method of Transmission for Each Type of Meningitis

Bacterial and viral meningitis can be transmitted from one person to another through coughing birth and sharing of food. Fungal is transmitted through inhaling soil that is contaminated by bird dropping.

Why Do You Think Many Colleges Require This Vaccination and What Types of Meningitis Is This Vaccine Effective Against?

Many colleges require students to receive a vaccination before allowing them to live in their dormitories.
Bacterial meningitis (meningococcal) is common for college students. The students in a group setting and thus giving N.meningitidis a conducive environment to spread (Allen, & Lyons, 2018).Thereby vaccination is required to curb the infection.

List Four Possible Long-Term Effects of Meningitis

Recurrent seizures, vision loss, hearing loss and memory loss.

References

Allen, N. J., & Lyons, D. A. (2018). Glia as architects of central nervous system formation and function. Science, 362(6411), 181-185.

Diallo, A. O., Soeters, H. M., Yameogo, I., Sawadogo, G., Aké, F., Lingani, C., & Ouédraogo-Traoré, R. (2017). Bacterial meningitis epidemiology and return of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A cases in Burkina Faso in the five years following MenAfriVac mass vaccination campaign. PLoS One, 12(11), e0187466.