Meningitis

Main Pathomorphologic changes in purulent meningitis and a web address soft shell with partial involvement of the brain substance. The most frequent nature of meningococcal meningitis.

Meningococcal epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis purulent inflammation is a primary shell of brain and spinal cord and is related to acute infectious diseases that have a tendency to epidemic spread, and affects mainly children under 5 years old. Currently, the disease occurs in the form of individual cases, whereas previously it has been the nature of large epidemics, due to population density and poor sanitary conditions.

Agent of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis is the meningococcus - diplokokk gram-negative, which penetrates the central nervous system to the circulatory or lymphatic system.

The source of meningococcal disease is only a person that is sick meningococcal meningitis, patients with kataralnymi events (nazofaringitami) and healthy carriers. The mechanism of transmission - airborne.

Most sick children are young children and men. The largest number of cases occur in winter and spring (February-April). During the period of epidemic rise since November-December, an increase in morbidity. Factors influencing the seasonal incidence, are the climatic conditions (sharp fluctuations in temperature, high humidity), the changing nature of communication between people in the winter (long stay indoors, inadequate ventilation, etc.). From time to time, in 10-15 years, there rises the frequency of the epidemic disease.

Meningitis distributed all over the world. A particularly high incidence in some African countries (Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan) - at 40-50 times higher than in other European countries.

The exact incidence of meningitis is unknown, despite the fact that in many countries, public health authorities must be notified in each case. Studies have shown that in western countries, bacterial meningitis occurs in about 3 people per 100,000 residents. Viral meningitis is more common, it occurs 10.9 times per 100000 inhabitants. In Brazil, the rate of bacterial meningitis higher (45.8 cases per 100000 inhabitants). In Africa south of Sahara, in the so-called «meningitis belt» the case of large epidemics of meningococcal meningitis (up to 500 cases per 100000 inhabitants). They occur in areas with low efficiency of medical care.

The first outbreak of meningitis occurred in Russia in 1930-1940's, and no one could predict the path of its development. The number of ill was just 50 per 100 thousand population. Epidemiologists suggest that meningitis is related to migration, which was observed in those years. Nevertheless, in the late 1940's outbreak was over. But in the years 1969-1973 epidemic of meningitis has been re-recorded in the USSR. The cause of the outbreak epidemiologists were able to identify only in 1997, when scientists are already seriously interested in all kinds of meningococcus. It turned out that the cause of the disease became meningococcus, first appeared in China in mid-1960's and accidentally entered in the USSR. This agent was totally new for the inhabitants of Russia, and it almost no one was immune.