Treatment and epidemiology
Treatment generally involves supportive care and psychotherapy. The condition usually persists without treatment. It is believed to affect about 1.5% of the general population (based on a small US community sample) and 3% of those admitted to hospitals with mental health issues in Europe and North America. DID is diagnosed about six times more often in women than in men. The number of recorded cases increased significantly in the latter half of the 20th century, along with the number of identities reported by those affected. Society and culture
DID is controversial within both the field of psychiatry and the legal system. Claims of DID have been used only rarely to argue criminal insanity in court.It is unclear whether increased rates of the disorder are due to better recognition or sociocultural factors such as mass media portrayals. The typical presenting symptoms in different regions of the world may also vary depending on culture, for example alter identities taking the form of possessing spirits, deities, ghosts, or mythical figures in cultures where normative possession states are common. (pp 295, 801) The possession form of dissociative identity disorder is involuntary and distressing, and occurs in a way that violates cultural or religious norms. (p 295)

Definitions
Dissociation, the term that underlies dissociative disorders including DID, lacks a precise, empirical, and generally agreed upon definition.A large number of diverse experiences have been termed dissociative, ranging from normal failures in attention to the breakdowns in memory processes characterized by the dissociative disorders.
Thrombocytopenia is sometimes extreme, with alteration in prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) suggestive of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Acidosis and acute kidney failure can be seen as in any severe sepsis. Meningococci can be readily cultured from blood or cerebrospinal fluid, and can sometimes be seen in smears of cutaneous lesions. Difficulty swallowing, atrophy of the tongue, and cracks at the corners of the mouth are also characteristic features. Causes
Multiple species of bacteria can be associated with the condition:

Meningococcus is another term for the bacterial species Neisseria meningitidis; blood infection with said species usually underlies WFS. While many infectious agents can infect the adrenals, an acute, selective infection is usually meningococcus. Pseudomonas aeruginosa can also cause WFS. WFS can also be caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae infections, a common bacterial pathogen typically associated with meningitis in the adult and elderly population. Mycobacterium tuberculosis could also cause WFS. Tubercular invasion of the adrenal glands could cause hemorrhagic destruction of the glands and cause mineralocorticoid deficiency. Staphylococcus aureus has recently also been implicated in pediatric WFS. It can also be associated with Haemophilus influenzae.Viruses may also be implicated in adrenal problems:

Cytomegalovirus can cause adrenal insufficiency, especially in the immunocompromised. Ebola virus infection may also cause similar acute adrenal failure. Diagnosis
Diagnostic criteria are based on clinical features of adrenal insufficiency as well as identifying the causal agent. If the causal agent is suspected to be meningitis a lumbar puncture is performed.