Meningitis--cause for concern?

Abstract

were abnormal, but is this the case? Meningitis has been a notifiable disease since the beginning of the century but heightened awareness and an increase in the reporting of cases has given the impression that it is a ’new’ disease. Public concern is fuelled by the perception of the disease as fatal. In fact, the total number of meningitis cases has remained fairly constant over the last ten years with a peak of 2987 reported cases in 1988 in England and Wales (OPCS, 1993). In 1995 there were 2284 reported cases in England and Wales (NOIDS, 1996), 88 cases in Scotland (Scottish Office, 1995) and 121 cases in Northern Ireland (Department of Health and Social Security, 1995). Notifications of meningitis in 1996 have reached a provisional total of 2612 compared to the same period in 1995 and these comprise 1138 cases of meningococcal meningitis (2181 in 1995) and 1076 cases of septicaemia (683 in 1995). The number of fatalities has increased although the case fatality rate remains at a fairly constant 10 per cent (Stuart, 1996). Meningitis means inflammation of the meninges, or the lining which surrounds the brain. It can be caused by bacteria or virus with viral meningitis being the more common and less serious. While symptoms can be similar, bacterial meningitis is far more serious and is potentially fatal. The main bacteria which cause this form of meningitis