World Meningitis Day
On October 5, we join the global community in raising awareness of a deadly disease that affects millions of men, women, and children all over the world every year.
Meningitis in numbers1
Preventing the Preventable: The Road to Defeating Meningitis by 2030
For the first time, World Meningitis Day is being commemorated on October 5 rather than April 24. The new dedicated date was chosen to support WHO’s initiative to defeat meningitis by 2030.
The tragedy of meningitis is that it is preventable with vaccination and treatable if quickly and accurately diagnosed. Yet, progress on meningitis prevention has been slow, with other infectious diseases taking center stage, according to Dr. Chris Elias, president, global development for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
WHO aims to change this and work “towards a world free of meningitis” by 2030.
The organization has set three goals for its campaign:
- Eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics.
- Reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%.
- Reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.
To achieve these goals, WHO has developed a comprehensive approach with five interconnected pillars that cover every aspect of the fight against meningitis:
- 1. Prevention and epidemic control
- 2. Diagnosis and treatment
- 3. Disease surveillance
- 4. Support and care for people affected by meningitis
- 5. Advocacy and engagement
Due to the nature of meningitis, the world may never be fully rid of the disease. But with its road map, WHO aims to bring us as close as possible to this outcome for the sake of improving public health and decreasing the burden of this and related illnesses.
Fulfilling Pillar 2 With the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® Meningitis/Encephalitis (ME) Panel
Speed and accuracy are vital to diagnosing and treating meningitis. Without timely diagnostic results that support informed treatment decisions, patients can die within hours of infection.1
While traditional meningitis tests take 24–48 hours, the BIOFIRE ME Panel uses PCR technology to go from sample to results in about one hour. Quickly rule in—and rule out—potential causes of meningitis/encephalitis with BIOFIRE’s syndromic testing solution, which simultaneously targets 14 of the most common bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens that attack the nervous system.
The rapid turnaround time coupled with the comprehensive nature of the testing gives clinicians back precious time to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
With the diagnostic power of the BIOFIRE ME Panel, laboratories, hospitals, and clinics worldwide can help do their part in defeating meningitis and helping reduce devastating patient deaths and disabilities.
Learn More About Meningitis From These Sources:
- This year’s World Meningitis Day campaign focuses on what life is like after meningitis.
- The National Meningitis Association and the Meningitis Research Foundation provide information about meningitis, including how to recognize signs and symptoms, the availability of vaccines, and stories from survivors.
- The BIOFIRE ME Panel webpage demonstrates the benefits of syndromic diagnostic testing.
References
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- World Meningitis Day 2022 Fact Sheet. Accessed on 16 Aug 2022. Retrieved from: https://f37f9f4d-dea8-4f37-b461-7719570767ff.usrfiles.com/ugd/f37f9f_11e6bc2e5a3840ce889ad9f8febde050.pdf
