OPPapers.com

Meningnitis

Meningitis is sometimes difficult to detect in infants and small children because its
classic symptoms may be subtle or absent. A baby cannot tell you that he or she has a headache,
so doctors must be veryobservant in order to properly diagnose what is wrong. A baby with
meningitis may display imitability, lack of appetite, and or vomiting. at any age, seizures may
resuit as the disease progresses, followed by coma and death.
Meningnitis can orginate from manydifferentcauses, including viral, fungal, bacterial,
parasitic, cancerous, andchemical.
One of the most common, but least dangerous, forms of meninggitis viral meningitis.
Viral meningitis will normally clear up by itself without complications. Viral meningitis is
sometimes called aseptic menin gitis when doctors attempt but fail to produce a positive
identification of the underlying virus. Nearly every aseptic meningitis is caused by a virus.
Many different viruses can cause meningitis, including herpes simplex types 1 and 2
mumps, influenza, Epstein-Barr, measles, rubella, and polio, among others. The most common
causes of viral meninggitis are enteroviruses. These viruses normally live in the intestines.
Enteroviruses like coxsackie and echovins are often the cause of viral meningitis. Since
many people who have it do not get sick enough to seek medical attention, it is difficult to
know how widespread viral meningitis might be.Statistics are only availabie for the cases
severe enough to repuire hospitalization.
In populations where vaccinations are common, some of these causes of meningitis are
rare. In the United States, for instance, meningitis from the mumps would be extremely unusual.
However, in unimmunized populations, a full 30 percentof thepeople who contract the mumps virus
will develop viral meningitis. Strangely, males are two to five times more likely than females
to develop viral meningtis in this way.
Occasionally, the rates...