what is and causes spinal meningitis?

[chathamgrp]

what is and causes spinal meningitis?

[Marzsaetel]

Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Non-bacterial meningitis is often referred to as "aseptic meningitis." Bacterial meningitis may be referred to as "purulent meningitis."Types of Meningitis include:(These are bacterial) * Meningitis - cryptococcal * Syphilitic aseptic meningitis * Meningitis - H. influenza * Meningitis - meningococcal * Meningitis - pneumococcal * Meningitis - staphylococcal * Meningitis - tuberculous * Aseptic meningitis * Meningitis gram negative * Carcinomatous meningitis (meningitis due to cancer) * Acute bacterial meningitis is a true medical emergency, and requires immediate hospital-based treatment. Bacterial strains that cause meningitis include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), Listeria monocytogenes, and many other types of bacteria. In the U.S. almost 20,000 cases of bacterial meningitis occur yearly.Viral meningitis is milder and occurs more often than bacterial meningitis. It usually develops in the late summer and early fall, often affects children and adults under 30. Seventy percent of the infections occur in children under the age of 5. Most viral meningitis is associated with enteroviruses, which are viruses that commonly cause intestinal illness.

spinalmeningitis.org (http://spinalmeningitis.org/)