Disease Research Project
Neisseria meningitidis
(meningococcus)
Dawn Braud Microbiology 2104 Spring 2017
Causative Agent:
Neisseria meningitidis
Disease:
Meningococcus
Classification of the causative agent:
Neisseria meningitidis, also known as meningococcus, is a fastidious, encapsulated, aerobic gram-negative (very little or no peptidoglycan in the cell wall), diplococcus bacterium with a polysac-charide capsule. N. meningitidis is the cause of meningococcal meningitis infections that have a low prevalence and high mortality in children and young adults through an epidemic or sporadic meningitis and septicemia (blood poisoning). The bacterial form of meningitis is a severe infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal …show more content…
It was not until 1887 that the causative agent, Neisseria meningitidis, was iden-tified in the spinal fluid of patients by Anton Weichselbaum.
Meningococcal has had some form of impact on nearly every part of the world. The World Health Organization has estimated that meningococcal disease was the cause of 171,000 deaths world-wide in 2000. In the nineteenth century, meningococcal infections were treated using serum ther-apy and sulfonamides introduced by Flexner in 1913. By the 1960s, the development of resistance to sulfonamides prompted the discovery of the first vaccines against meningococcal …show more content…
If present acutely (symptoms evolving rapidly over 1-24 hours), subacutely (symptoms evolving over 1-7 days), or chronically (symptoms evolving over more than one week). But on average, the incubation period is approximately four days.
Signs and Symptoms:
Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis may vary from case to case. But the most prevalent symp-toms are a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, intense headache, convulsion, rash, vomiting, and septicemia—with can be fatal.
Treatments:
Without early diagnosis and treatment, meningococcal meningitis can cause death or serious com-plications. Survivors may have brain damage, hearing loss, gangrene, paralysis, or learning disa-bility. To prevent these severe problems, it is important to seek help quickly. After a spinal tap test confirms a diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis, the patient will be admitted to the hospital immediately. The doctor may start antibiotics, such as penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol or ceftriaxone, depending on the serotype causing the infection.
Prevention:
Vaccinations are usually the most common form of defense against of N. meningitidis. There are three types of vaccines that are used in the United
Neisseria meningitidis
(meningococcus)
Dawn Braud Microbiology 2104 Spring 2017
Causative Agent:
Neisseria meningitidis
Disease:
Meningococcus
Classification of the causative agent:
Neisseria meningitidis, also known as meningococcus, is a fastidious, encapsulated, aerobic gram-negative (very little or no peptidoglycan in the cell wall), diplococcus bacterium with a polysac-charide capsule. N. meningitidis is the cause of meningococcal meningitis infections that have a low prevalence and high mortality in children and young adults through an epidemic or sporadic meningitis and septicemia (blood poisoning). The bacterial form of meningitis is a severe infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal …show more content…
It was not until 1887 that the causative agent, Neisseria meningitidis, was iden-tified in the spinal fluid of patients by Anton Weichselbaum.
Meningococcal has had some form of impact on nearly every part of the world. The World Health Organization has estimated that meningococcal disease was the cause of 171,000 deaths world-wide in 2000. In the nineteenth century, meningococcal infections were treated using serum ther-apy and sulfonamides introduced by Flexner in 1913. By the 1960s, the development of resistance to sulfonamides prompted the discovery of the first vaccines against meningococcal …show more content…
If present acutely (symptoms evolving rapidly over 1-24 hours), subacutely (symptoms evolving over 1-7 days), or chronically (symptoms evolving over more than one week). But on average, the incubation period is approximately four days.
Signs and Symptoms:
Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis may vary from case to case. But the most prevalent symp-toms are a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, intense headache, convulsion, rash, vomiting, and septicemia—with can be fatal.
Treatments:
Without early diagnosis and treatment, meningococcal meningitis can cause death or serious com-plications. Survivors may have brain damage, hearing loss, gangrene, paralysis, or learning disa-bility. To prevent these severe problems, it is important to seek help quickly. After a spinal tap test confirms a diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis, the patient will be admitted to the hospital immediately. The doctor may start antibiotics, such as penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol or ceftriaxone, depending on the serotype causing the infection.
Prevention:
Vaccinations are usually the most common form of defense against of N. meningitidis. There are three types of vaccines that are used in the United