World meningitis day is observed on 24th April every year to raise awareness about meningitis, a potentially deadly disease that can kill anyone in a matter of hours or cause lifelong disability. Impartial to age, meningitis affects anyone from infants to elderly. It is caused due to viral and bacterial infections, rarely by fungal or parasitic infections.
Symptoms include:
- Stiff neck
- Fever
- Seizure
- Headache and drowsiness
- Rashes
- Vomiting
- In case of infants, they might be droopy and unresponsive.
Vaccination for meningitis, was invented by Dr. John Robbins. Meningococcus, pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type b are common causes of meningitis. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine or MPSV4 is the current vaccination used specifically against meningitis. Aftereffects can be life-changing and may include memory loss, deafness, loss of sight, epilepsy, paralysis, limb loss, organ damage and brain damage. With quick treatment, many people with bacterial meningitis don’t have any permanent problems. Meningitis can also be fatal and some people with this infection will die.