Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by a pathogenic fungus, but in most cases it results from a viral or bacterial infection.

Viral meningitis is more common (7 out of 10 cases) but not serious. They heal in about a week. Meningitis of bacterial origin is the most ferocious . They are the ones who are sparking massive epidemics.

Various germs involved

Several germs can induce bacterial meningitis. "The most common are pneumococcal, meningococcal and Haemophilus b," explains Professor Joel Gaudelus, an infectious pediatrician at Jean Verdier Hospital in Bondy. The latter has decreased since vaccination.

The microbes may have remained in the throat and only manifest as angina, otitis, or nasopharyngitis.
But when they pass into the blood and reach the meninges, the infection progresses rapidly and can lead to significant sequelae in 24 hours (blindness, deafness, mental retardation ...), even death in 10% of cases.

Who is most at risk?

Small children (under 5), adolescents and young adults (under 25) are the most affected.

Pneumococcal meningitis remains the leading cause of death from bacterial infection in infants. They also affect the elderly a lot.

Meningococcal meningitis preferentially affects young people. "500 to 800 cases are reported each year in France, including 65 deaths," says Professor Gaudelus. They occur mostly in winter or early spring.

Symptoms not to be neglected

Meningitis is characterized by fever, severe headache, stiff neck and increased sensitivity to light .

Those with meningococcus are difficult to diagnose because the first symptoms (within 4 to 8 hours) are not specific (loss of appetite, nausea, drowsiness). They can be misleading, especially in small children because they are confused with an ILI.

In a third of cases, red or purplish spots appear on the skin. In case of doubt, it must be consulted very quickly because the treatment (antibiotics) must be undertaken urgently.

How to protect yourself from meningitis?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most effective way to prevent bacterial meningitis is to get vaccinated. There is no vaccine against all meningitis, but against three types of meningitis: pneumococcal, meningococcal C and Haemophilus . Their injection was previously only recommended, but they are now among the eleven childhood vaccines that became mandatory from 1 January 2018.

With better immunization coverage, infectious foci - hence epidemics - will be less.

At the beginning of 2017, 30,000 students had to be vaccinated urgently for preventive purposes on the university campus of Dijon following the death of two students.