My son's daycare called to let us know that a child there was
sick with meningitis. I thought this was a pretty rare disease.
What are the symptoms? There are two forms of meningitis, caused
by either a virus (viral meningitis) or bacteria (bacterial
meningitis). Both forms of the disease cause inflammation of the
tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord (the meninges).
The two share common symptoms: headache, high fever and a stiff
neck. Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting, discomfort
when looking into bright lights, and confusion or irritability.
What the two types of meningitis do not have in common, however,
is their severity. Bacterial meningitis is very serious. It can
be fatal and should be treated as soon as possible. Viral
meningitis is not fatal and usually runs its course in 7-10
days. The difference in the two types is the underlying cause.
When we hear about sudden deaths from this disease, the culprit
is usually one of the bacterial infections, either pneumococcal
meningitis or me