Every year some are declared 1,000 cases of meningitis in Spain, of which 10% are very serious. It is a disease characterized by inflammation of the membranes (meninges) that cover the the brain and spinal cord and which, if it develops seriously, can lead to death and cause serious complications and sequelae. “Although the vast majority of these pathologies are caused by virusthose caused by bacteria and fungi It is usually the most serious, Explain Marta Guillan, secretary of the Critical and Intensive Neurology Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), an entity that held yesterday, April 24th, World Meningitis Day. “In Spain, digestive viruses (enteroviruses) and herpes viruses are the ones that most often cause the majority of cases of this viral disease; while pneumococci and meningococci are the most common causes of bacterial meningitis.Although the number of cases in Spain is not particularly high, an upward trend has been observed since 2014, mainly due to the increase in cases of meningococcal meningitis caused by serogroups W and Y. During the pandemic years, due to protective measures against Covid , the incidence of meningitis decreased drastically because it shares the routes of contagion with the pandemic, but cases increased again, warns the SEN. “The vast majority of meningitis-causing agents are transmitted by by air. Therefore, minimizing close contact between people, wearing masks, increasing hand hygiene, etc., are measures that have also reduced cases of meningitis. As we relax the hygiene measures acquired during the pandemic, we are seeing once again how cases of meningitis are growing. In the last epidemic season there was a 10% increase in cases of bacterial meningitis. We trust that the systematic vaccination of children, and even more so with the recent incorporation of the meningococcus B vaccine into the childhood vaccination calendar of all Autonomous Communities (CC.AA.), will mitigate this growing trend”, says Marta Guillan.Currently, the best prevention against meningitis continues to be vaccination. Therefore, the SEN wants to insist on the importance of following the recommendations of the common vaccination schedule throughout life. Furthermore, this society, together with different medical associations, is trying to promote the implementation of a single vaccination schedule in all Autonomous Communities to guarantee equity in disease prevention.“We estimate that around 20% of the population may be carriers of some of the bacteria that cause the most serious meningitis. And although the vast majority of these people will not develop the disease, they can transmit it to other more vulnerable and/or predisposed people.” comments Marta Guillan. “The highest risk groups are children under 5 years old and young people between 15 and 24 years old, as well as people with diseases that compromise the immune system or who live in crowded or community environments. In any case, any healthy person, and especially if they have not been vaccinated, can contract meningitis.”, To add. Meningitis is the leading cause of death from infection in children and adolescentss, with meningococcal being the one that causes the highest mortality. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10% of people who contract this type die and that 20% have serious complications. As it is a global public health problem, which affects low-income countries most intensely, the WHO has established three objectives for itself: eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis; reduce the number of cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and the number of deaths by 70%; and reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis.“Depending on the severity and extent of the infection, the range of complications and sequelae that meningitis can cause is very wide, although the most common are motor and intellectual deficits, deafness and epilepsy. And if sepsis also occurs, that is, as the infection passes into the bloodstream, numerous vascular problems, organ failure or gangrene can occur that will lead to the need for surgical interventions”, Guillan details. “We are, therefore, facing a very serious disease that can leave lifelong consequences. It is, therefore, a medical emergency in which early diagnosis and treatment are essential to avoid sequelae and associated mortality”, he adds. And the more time passes without a person receiving medical evaluation, the greater the risk of mortality or suffering permanent neurological damage. In any case, meningitis is not always easy to identify because the first symptoms are similar to other less serious illnesses: fever, headache, muscle pain, gastrointestinal or respiratory symptoms. But as the disease progresses, other symptoms more characteristic of the disease will appear, such as neck stiffness, vomiting, petechiae, excessive sensitivity to light, decreased level of consciousness, convulsions or other neurological signs, which should alert us that we are in in the face of a medical emergency, say SEN,
