Meningitis is a deadly disease that can kill in hours. This is a serious condition that can lead to inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. However, injuries, cancer, certain drugs, and other types of infections can also cause meningitis. It is important to know the specific cause of meningitis because the treatment differs depending on the cause.1
As meningitis diagnostics are relatively recent in our history, it’s difficult to determine exactly how long the disease has been a part of our world. “The first recorded observation of what might have been meningitis came from the famous Greek scholar Hippocrates (c.460-370BC), who observed the inflammation of the lining of the brain,” according to the Meningitis Research Foundation.2
In 1661, Thomas Willis provided one of the earliest descriptions of meningitis. He depicted patients with “inflammation of the meninges with a continual fever” in 1661.2
French and English physicians coined the term “meningitis” in the early 1800s by combining “meninges” with the suffix “itis” to imply inflammation. Since then, scientists have delineated different types of meningitis.2
Depiction of Thomas Willis, SciHi Blog
Infectious meningitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or yeast. Meningitis-causing bacteria and viruses can be spread from person to person. Some bacteria can spread through food. Fungal meningitis, caused by yeast organisms, generally begins as an infection elsewhere in the body that spreads to the meninges.
Meningitis symptoms include sudden onset of:3
There are often other symptoms, such as:3
Newborns and babies may not have, or it may be difficult to notice the classic symptoms listed above. Instead, babies may:3
Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges; it is a devastating disease and remains a major public health challenge. While the disease can be caused by many different pathogens, the highest global burden is seen with bacterial meningitis.3
Distinguishing bacterial from viral meningitis based on clinical presentation alone is challenging. Getting fast, pathogen-specific answers can help save lives and guide appropriate therapy. That’s because time to diagnosis is critical. Bacterial meningitis can be fatal in healthy people in 24 to 48 hours.4 The right treatment depends on quick identification of the pathogen as bacterial, viral, or yeast.
Furthermore, patients with suspected meningitis are often treated empirically pending diagnostic results.5,6 This can mean lengthy hospitalizations and unnecessary antimicrobial use, all of which add to the overall cost of care.
The BIOFIRE ME Panel is a syndromic test that targets 14 of the most common bacterial, viral, and yeast causes of central nervous system infections. It takes just one small sample of 0.2 mL of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and about an hour to deliver accurate results.
The BIOFIRE ME Panel provides comprehensive results in a clinically actionable timeframe. Getting answers fast can be lifesaving and can help guide appropriate therapy. The BIOFIRE ME Panel has been shown to:
Increase diagnostic yield
Shorten time to diagnosis
Impact antimicrobial therapy
Shorten hospital stays
References:
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING: A Revolutionary New Respiratory Solution for Outpatient...