What is it about ?
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain. It is usually caused by a bacteria or virus. Located just below the skull, the meninges protect the brain.
Meningitis caused by bacteria is serious and can be life threatening if not treated quickly with antibiotics. The 3 main germs that can cause bacterial meningitis are meningococcus, pneumococcus (especially known in pneumonia) and Haemophilus influenzae (type b) (Hib). These germs are present in the nose and throat (where they are harmless). They can be transmitted through coughing, sneezing, and close contact. They can also cause a blood poisoning (sepsis).
Viral meningitis is less serious than bacterial meningitis: it does not require treatment and resolves spontaneously.
What is its frequency?
There are no precise figures on the frequency of meningitis in Belgium. Viral meningitis is more common than bacterial meningitis.
In Belgium, the number of cases of serious meningococcal infections has fallen sharply since 2002 and the introduction of a general vaccination program against group C meningococci. Since 2008, the number of confirmed cases has hovered around one. hundred per year1.
Children, young people and people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to meningitis.
How to recognize it?
Bacterial meningitis often starts off as a ‘big flu’, possibly with the following symptoms:
- high fever
- muscle pain
- headaches,
- feeling unwell
- drowsiness and confusion
- nausea and vomiting.
Irritation of the meninges leads to neck stiffness. This stiffness prevents the affected person from lowering the chin towards the chest. This sign is not always present, however.
In babies, sometimes the neck is not stiff. But on the other hand, he may suffer from hypersensitivity causing such pain when you lift his little legs to change his diaper that he systematically starts to cry. Likewise, he often drinks badly.
In the case of a blood poisoning (sepsis), it appears red-purplish spots (petechiae) on the skin, which do not disappear on pressure. You can do the test by exerting pressure with a glass.
A decrease in the level of consciousness also occurs. In this case, one no longer responds adequately to questions or stimuli.
Viral meningitis basically has the same symptoms, but they develop more slowly and are less severe. The general condition of the person is much less affected. The disease has often appeared for some time by the time she sees the doctor.
In rare cases, a chronic form of meningitis develops. This can occur alongside tuberculosis, syphilis, and Lyme disease (borreliosis). The affected person naturally also shows signs of this other disease. In this type of situation, symptoms develop over a period of several weeks.
How is the diagnosis made?
The doctor will suspect the diagnosis of meningitis based on your symptoms. If this is the case, he will refer you urgently to the specialist for a blood test and lumbar puncture. Lumbar puncture involves taking a little cerebrospinal fluid (= fluid in the brain and spinal cord) for additional examinations, which will identify the agent responsible for meningitis and thus choose the most effective treatment.
What can you do ?
In the event of a flu-like infection accompanied by a high fever, intense headache, vomiting and stiff neck, it is advisable to consult the doctor as soon as possible.
Children can receive vaccines against meningococcus group C and against the bacteria Hib. These vaccines lower the risk of meningitis. They are part of the basic vaccination schedule and are free.
What can your doctor do?
Viral meningitis heals on its own. The main aim of treatment is therefore to relieve the symptoms, in particular by means of an anti-vomiting medicine and a pain reliever. If your general condition allows it, treatment can be given at home.
When the symptoms are very severe, antibiotic therapy is started in the hospital pending the results of tests carried out on the blood and cerebrospinal fluid collected. If the meningitis is of viral origin, the antibiotics will be stopped.
Treatment of bacterial meningitis is done in hospital by administering high doses of antibiotics by infusion. Sometimes cortisone is also added to it.
Meningococcal meningitis can be contagious and the germs are transmitted through close contact for several hours (sneezing, coughing fits, kissing, etc.). Preventive antibiotic therapy is therefore recommended for certain relatives (family, children, etc.)
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