Preventing Bacterial Meningitis Essay

Bacterial meningitis is prevalent in several communities in the US with approximately 10% of the nation's population having the disease. The disease causes an inflammation of the membranes that surround the spinal cord and brain. Some of the symptoms of the disease are a stiff neck, fever, and headache. Several studies have shown that viral infection is the major cause of the disease (Coureuil, 2017). However, fungi and bacteria are also other causes of the infection. As a resident advisor at a high school sports coach, I would use several strategies to explain to people the importance of preventing the disease.

Bacterial meningitis is spread in mucus and saliva from the nose and mouth of the infected persons. Luckily, the disease lives for a while outside the body. Therefore, good hygiene is necessary among the team players to prevent the infection. As a resident advisor at a high school sports coach, there are several strategies that I would use to prevent the bacterial infection among the students. First, I would advise the team members to cover their noses and mouths when sneezing, coughing or talking to each other. The strategy will reduce the risk of contaminating the air with the bacteria, thereby, spreading the disease to other individuals without the disease. The strategy is important because it will reduce the chances of spreading the disease to other students since some people may be infected by the bacteria, but they are not aware. The students who are unaware that they have the disease risks spreading it to other team members. Also, I would educate the team members of the systems and sign of the disease so that they became aware of the diseases when they are infected.

Secondly, I would advice team members to avoid sharing anything that is likely to be used in covering the mouth or nose. The items include water bottles, mouth guards, and breathing apparatus such as nose plugs, snorkels, face masks, and SCUBA mouthpieces. There is a possibility that a small amount of mucus or saliva will remain in the apparatus after being used by a person. The equipment is majorly used to cover people's mouths and noses to allow them breath. Unluckily, they may leave some quantity of saliva or mucus in the apparatus during the process. Therefore, if the same apparatus is used by another student, then there will be a possibility that the individual will be contaminated with the bacteria in the liquids causing meningitis. A sports club should have enough of the items to be used by students during training or in a competition without sharing them (Kerr, 2016). After the game, the items should be properly cleaned before they are used in the next match. The strategy is useful in preventing the risk of contracting the disease by sharing items that are contaminated.

More so, the students should be aware of those who are likely to be having the disease and avoid staying close to them. Also, the team leaders should take precautionary measures by involving the health officials to vaccinate every team member with antibiotics to prevent the risk of contracting the disease when they are close to individuals with the disease. During sports, there are always a sizeable number of face-to-face interaction both with the team members and people from the rival team (Kerr, 2016). The interactions will increase the risks of being infected by the disease because a team may not fully understand its rival players' conditions, especially their health status. The rival team may be from a different place that the team may be unfamiliar with, especially the health status at the place. Therefore, vaccinating all the team players will be an important strategy in preventing the risk of contracting the disease.

Another technique of improving hygiene among the team members to prevent the risk of being infected by the disease is through washing hands and disposing of used tissues. Team members should dispose tissues after using them because there is a possibility that the bacteria will continue living in the liquids that are left in the paper after being used (Kerr, 2016). Hence, creating a risk of infection if a person comes into contact with the used paper. Similarly, a person may sneeze or cough and wipe the liquids from the nose or mouth with the hands. In such a case, the person will risk infecting other individuals when he or she greats other team members. More so, the team members should practice the best technique of washing hands such as using warm water and antibacterial soap. The soap and warm water kill the bacteria reducing the chances of infecting other people. Therefore, personal hygiene is an important strategy in preventing contamination.

Finally, the team needs to stay alert of water and food recalls. Sometimes the water and food that are used by the players may be contaminated. Therefore, it is critical to stay informed of the recalls to avoid injecting contaminated water and food products. The news about contaminated food products can be received from local news such as information from local water supply cautioning people to avoid using their waters to bathe (Romero, 2014). Also, the news may be received from companies that have recalled their products due to contamination. Sometimes companies realize the problem of food contamination after they have released their products, then recall the commodities that had been supplied. Therefore, in case a certain food has been recalled, the team should dispose all the products and immediately seek medical attention. The technique of listening to news about food and water contamination will help people to avoid the risk of getting infected due to ignorance.

Conclusion

To sum up, bacterial meningitis is a deadly disease that can easily be transferred from one person to another especially in a place where people are congested including sports where several individuals interact. The bacteria are contained in the mucus and saliva of those who have been infected by the deadly disease (Coureuil, 2017). Therefore, there is need to observe personal hygiene as a precaution to prevent further infection. As a resident advisor of a local sports team, I would foster personal hygiene as a strategy to prevent further infection among the team members. The personal hygiene can be observed by maintaining hands clean and avoiding sneezing or coughing near other students. More so, I would advise people to adopt precautionary measures of avoiding those who have been infected by the disease and vaccinating all the team players by antibacterial medicine. The strategies will help the nation by reducing the number of death cases due to bacterial meningitis.

References

Coureuil, M., Lecuyer, H., Bourdoulous, S., & Nassif, X. (2017). A journey into the brain: insight into how bacterial pathogens cross blood-brain barriers. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 15(3), 149.

Kerr, M. M. (2016). School crisis prevention and intervention. Waveland Press.

Romero, J. R. (2014). Viral meningitis and aseptic meningitis syndrome. Infections of the central nervous system. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 65-83.