Is it possible to get meningitis from another person?

general information

Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, transmitted by airborne droplets. Most often, changes affect the pia and arachnoid membranes of the brain, and the brain itself may be partially involved. Among the causative agents of meningitis are bacteria, viruses and fungi: meningococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria, Enterobacteriaceae, staphylococci, Klebsiella, pneumococci, salmonella, Haemophilus influenzae, herpes virus, cytomegalovirus. Is meningitis contagious? Meningitis, which poses a danger to others (meningococcal in nature), is transmitted aerogenously.

Non-infectious form

Non-infectious meningitis, as well as parasitic and fungal meningitis, is not transmitted from person to person and is not contagious.

Provoking factors include:

• malignant neoplasms;
• head injuries;
• certain medicines;
• systemic lupus erythematosus;
• brain surgery.

Non-infectious meningitis is quite common. It develops in the postoperative period not only after excision of brain tumors, but also during surgical treatment of developmental defects and other diseases of the central nervous system.

It has been proven that non-infectious meningitis occurs in all patients after removal of tumors in the head; it is an inflammatory response to surgery in the central nervous system.

Non-infectious meningitis is not transmitted and is a secondary infection. It has its own reasons for its occurrence, namely:

• Libman-Sachs disease;
• Some types of drugs;
• Head injury;
• Oncological diseases;
• Brain surgery.

How is it transmitted?

Meningitis is transmitted from sick people and bacteria carriers with erased clinical forms. The main routes of infection include the following:

• the airborne route is the main one, in which infection occurs through direct contact with the bacteria carrier;
• contact-household path is carried out through the joint use of personal hygiene and household items (dishes, toys);
• The nutritional route of infection is more typical for children when they eat insufficiently heat-treated fruits (unwashed fruits and berries) and swim in untested bodies of water.

What is the mechanism for the formation of inflammation in the membranes of the brain after the pathogen enters the entrance gate?

First, microorganisms (most often bacteria) enter the entrance gate, colonization of the nasopharynx and invasion of the mucous membrane by the pathogen occurs. At the entrance gate, bacteria overcome the protective barrier due to the synthesis and release of enzymes that destroy immunoglobulins. Next, the microorganisms enter the bloodstream (bacteremia), damaging the endothelial lining of the brain capillaries. This leads to a sharp increase in the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and bacteria end up in the subarachnoid space. A focus of inflammation occurs, intracranial pressure increases, blood circulation in the brain is disrupted and this leads to swelling.

Is it possible to get a secondary infection and what are the ways of transmitting the virus?

Note! You cannot become infected with secondary meningitis, which is the result of other diseases, traumatic brain injuries, or taking certain medications.

Primary meningitis, which is the result of viral and bacterial infections, can be transmitted in the following ways:

1. Hematogenous (through the blood) - viruses and bacteria penetrate through blood vessels from the initial source of infection. In this way, infection with enterovirus, pneumococcal and meningococcal, tuberculous meningitis can occur.
2. Transplacental - infection of a child in the womb from the mother. Most often, infection with the meningococcal type occurs this way.
3. Fecal-oral – infection occurs due to lack of hygiene, dirty hands, living together and using common hygiene items with an infected person. Adenoviral, enteroviral meningitis and lymphocytic choriomeningitis are transmitted in this way.
4. Airborne is the most common method of infection. Occurs due to the release of infections, viruses and bacteria during talking, sneezing and coughing of a sick person. Enterovirus, tuberculosis, meningococcal, adenovirus and meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae are transmitted in this way.

At-risk groups

• The most susceptible segments of the population are, first of all, children. Brain tissue in children, compared to adults, is more hydrophilic, which causes frequent development of cerebral edema during the height of infection;
• The greatest number of diseases occurs at the end of winter - the beginning of spring, while the epidemic rise is noted from December;
• Also at risk are older people whose bodies are weakened and many diseases occur in clinically erased forms;
• Immunologically compromised patients also have a high risk of infection. Such patients are characterized by the development of atypical forms of meningitis - fungal meningitis;
• The highest incidence of meningitis was found in African countries due to the low level of living conditions. In addition, this group should include people traveling in African countries. Such people need to be vaccinated with an anti-meningococcal vaccine before traveling;
• Since meningitis is transmitted by airborne droplets, there is a high probability of illness among medical workers, in particular those who have constant contact with such patients (infectious diseases departments of hospitals);
• Meningitis most often affects men;
• Patients with chronic diseases (especially respiratory tract);
• The presence of other infectious diseases in the patient also increases the risk of infection. Such diseases include: syphilis, tuberculosis, Lyme disease, mumps;
• Constantly staying in places with large crowds of people. Such places include dormitories, kindergartens, and schools.

Is meningitis transmitted by airborne droplets, is the disease contagious?

It is impossible to determine exactly why meningitis develops.
There are a huge number of irritating factors. In case of primary infection, the cause of the inflammatory process will be the penetration of a foreign agent into the human body: bacteria, viruses, for which the shells of the “gray matter” are the optimal habitat. It would seem that the question is: “Serous meningitis - how is it transmitted?” exhausted. But there is one “but”: in fact, it is very difficult to get a viral inflammation of the meninges when in contact with a patient with such a diagnosis. That is, if someone from your family had contact with a child, man or woman, who was admitted to the hospital a few days later with a diagnosis of “Serous meningitis of viral origin,” then you have a high chance that a similar viral disease will develop, but NOT meningitis.

Now you know how viral meningitis is transmitted, its symptoms and possible complications. Thanks to the information received, you can avoid infection, and if infected, consult a doctor in a timely manner so as not to trigger the development of meningitis. When answering the question of whether meningitis is contagious, it is important to remember that the disease is caused by different pathogens.

The disease is very dangerous and requires immediate hospitalization, otherwise the risk of developing serious complications, including the death of the patient, increases.

Meningitis is a disease in the form of an inflammatory process in the human brain and spinal cord. In this case, the cells of the brain itself are not damaged from the inside, inflammation occurs from the outside of the substance.

With meningitis, an infectious infection of the brain liquor (specific cerebrospinal fluid) occurs. This disease is very dangerous; if not treated promptly, it can lead to death. What are the symptoms of meningitis, how is this disease transmitted and what should be done as a preventive measure to prevent the occurrence of a dangerous disease?

Purulent meningitis can be “caught” if diseases caused by bacteria such as otitis media, sinusitis, rhinitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, pneumonia, and sepsis are not treated sufficiently, incorrectly, or not at all. This disease also occurs with penetrating injury to the cranial cavity or spinal canal. These are secondary meningitis, which developed as complications, occurring in adults in almost 90% of cases of all purulent meningitis.

Pathology is caused by a variety of microorganisms:

• bacteria;
• viruses;
• fungi;
• protozoa.

In order to prevent the disease, it is necessary to carefully observe personal hygiene, strengthen the immune system, avoid contact with carriers of infection, and treat respiratory diseases in a timely manner so as not to cause complications and not to transfer a mild illness to a chronic stage. And a few days later - only lymphocyte counts.

But some children experience headaches and asthenic phenomena upon completion of treatment. In this case, you cannot do without consulting a neurologist. The main goal of treatment is to eradicate the cause of the illness; the course is based on the use of antiviral and antibacterial drugs. Direct injection of medications into the spinal canal may be prescribed.

In order to infect the meninges, a given microorganism must have a specific structure, strong aggressiveness, or reach a person in such a quantity that will allow it to pass through all the protective barriers surrounding the brain. In addition, in order for the disease to develop, the human body must either be weakened or its immune system is not sufficiently developed (which is why infants get sick more often than adults).

Before determining how meningitis is transmitted, it is necessary to understand what kind of disease it is. There are primary and secondary forms. In the first case, the disease develops independently and is considered contagious.

Outbreaks of viral meningitis are often associated not with contacts of people in a close group or family environment, but with the consumption of foods (most often unboiled water or milk) in which the active virus lives. What determines the manifestation of hereditary and generic character traits? Parents pass on their traits to their children through chromosomes.

All children in contact with sick children are given preventive measures. As a rule, this disease can be successfully treated. There are primary and secondary forms of pathology. The first type is an independent disease, transmitted from a sick person to other people. The secondary form is a complication of other diseases, in most cases it is not dangerous to others.

Patients suffering from this form of pathology are contagious. The infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. Compared to the viral form of the disease, the bacterial type of the disease does not pose a serious threat to a healthy person - the risk of infection is not so great.

Depending on the nature of the pathogen and a person’s immune strength, meningitis occurs in different forms and with different consequences. The mild form, if treatment is started in a timely manner, leaves virtually no consequences. But such cases are rare in medical practice. Meningitis is one of those diseases that, unlike viral hepatitis or HIV infection, is extremely difficult to contract directly from person to person.

The source of infection can be a person, an animal, or an insect that is a carrier of one of the viruses that can potentially cause inflammation of the meninges. Meningitis through direct contact can develop only in one case: when it is caused by a bacterium, namely meningococcus.

In addition, there is the concept of non-infectious and reactive disease. It is the form of the pathogen that determines how meningitis spreads. Inflammation of the meninges is classified as a serious and dangerous disease that causes severe complications. You can avoid infection if you understand how meningitis is transmitted, what its symptoms are and the degree of contagiousness.

Some diseases of the nervous system arise due to vascular changes, others due to an inflammatory process in the brain, and still others are caused by metabolic disorders. Stroke is an acute disorder of cerebral circulation, manifested by sudden symptoms of brain dysfunction (focal or cerebral), persisting throughout the day.

Take care of yourself and your children, be sure to get vaccinated against diseases that can cause the development of viral meningitis!

The nature of the ongoing inflammation makes it possible to determine whether this type of meningitis is purulent or serous. Purulent is divided into primary and secondary in origin.

Doctors say the main reason why meningitis occurs is infection of the human body by harmful microorganisms of various types. The key routes of transmission are:

1. From mother to child. In this case, the woman in labor often does not have pronounced signs of the disease. Children born by caesarean section are at risk.
2. Airborne path. Microorganisms leave the patient’s body when they cough/sneeze/talk.
3. Oral-fecal method. The infection is transmitted through insufficient hand hygiene.
4. Contact and household path. The occurrence of a bacterial disease is associated with the use of objects that have been touched by a patient or a carrier of infection.
5. Through blood and other biological fluids. The pathology is transmitted through close contact with an infected person or a carrier of pathogenic microorganisms.

Purulent meningitis

How can an adult or child become infected with meningitis? Purulent inflammation occurs due to the lack of treatment for diseases such as:

• caries;
• otitis/sinusitis;
• pharyngitis or rhinitis;
• tonsillitis;
• pneumonia.

A dangerous disease occurs due to the ingestion of E. coli, streptococci or staphylococci into the body. The causative agent of purulent pathology enters the body through the nasopharynx and spreads throughout the body with the help of lymph flow and blood flow. An outbreak of infection occurs if a person has a weakened immune system. In addition, serious head injuries and surgical interventions on the brain and neck are risk factors.

Bacterial

The cause of infection is usually a human carrier of the virus. The bacterial infection enters the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx or bronchi, and then enters the body through the bloodstream. Gradually, pathogenic microorganisms reach the brain, causing clinical symptoms of meningitis. The dangerous disease is transmitted through blood, sputum and saliva. Patients who have this form of the disease are contagious and spread harmful microbes through airborne droplets.

Compared to viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis is not as dangerous: it is milder and less likely to lead to severe complications. In addition, people with normal immunity, as a rule, are not susceptible to infection (even healthy people often have pathogenic bacteria in the nasopharynx). Interestingly, carriers of meningococcal infection cannot develop meningitis. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing the disease:

• age (young children get sick more often than adults);
• travel to African countries;
• weakened immune system;
• work in a large team;
• work related to disease-promoting pathogens.

Viral

The pathogens that can cause meningitis (both bacteria and viruses) are spread by coughing, sneezing, or kissing. Approximately 10% of the total population are carriers of meningococcal bacteria. Microorganisms persist in the inhalation tract, but do not manifest themselves in any way. Oddly enough, but most often meningococcal infection causes a common runny nose in the human body.

How quickly does the infection develop?

When infected with meningococcus, meningitis most often develops suddenly and is characterized by severe symptoms. On the first day, the patient develops a hemorrhagic rash. However, there are also fulminant forms of the disease, in which the patient dies within a few hours. For infants, the gradual development of the disease is more typical, unlike adults.

Helpful information

The speed of development of the infection and the appearance of the clinical picture depends on the reactivity of the person and the pathogen. On average, the time from the onset of the disease to the appearance of the first symptoms ranges from 5 to 12 days and is called the incubation period.

Meningitis in children

Regardless of the etiology, the course of meningitis in children is accompanied by general infectious, cerebral, meningeal symptoms, as well as typical inflammatory changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.

General infectious symptoms of meningitis in children are characterized by a sharp increase in temperature, chills, tachypnea and tachycardia, and the child’s refusal to eat and drink. There may be pallor or hyperemia of the skin, a hemorrhagic rash on the skin associated with bacterial embolism or toxic paresis of small vessels. Certain nonspecific symptoms occur in certain forms of meningitis in children: acute adrenal insufficiency - with meningococcal, respiratory failure - with pneumococcal, severe diarrhea - with enterovirus infection.

The cerebral syndrome that accompanies the course of meningitis in children is characterized by intense headaches associated with both toxic and mechanical irritation of the meninges. Headache can be diffuse, bursting, or localized in the frontotemporal or occipital region. Due to reflex or direct irritation of the receptors of the vomiting center in the medulla oblongata, repeated vomiting occurs, not associated with food intake and not bringing relief. Impaired consciousness during meningitis in children can be expressed in doubt, psychomotor agitation, development of a soporous state or coma. Often, with meningitis, children experience convulsions, the severity of which can vary from twitching of individual muscles to a generalized seizure. It is possible to develop focal symptoms in the form of oculomotor disorders, hemiparesis, and hyperkinesis.

The most common type of meningitis in children is meningeal syndrome. The child lies on his side, with his head thrown back; arms bent at the elbows and legs bent at the hip joints (“cocked position”). There is increased sensitivity to various irritants: hyperesthesia, blepharospasm, hyperacusis. A characteristic sign is a stiff neck (the inability to press the child’s chin to the chest due to tension in the neck muscles). Due to increased intracranial pressure, infants experience tension and bulging of the large fontanel, a pronounced venous network on the head and eyelids; When the skull is percussed, the sound of a “ripe watermelon” appears. The membrane signs characteristic of meningitis in children include Kernig's, Brudzinski's, Lessage's, Mondonesi's, and Bechterew's symptoms.

The course of purulent meningitis in children may be accompanied by other infectious and septic complications - pneumonia, arthritis, endocarditis, pericarditis, epiglottitis, osteomyelitis, sepsis. Late complications from the nervous system can include intellectual impairment, hypertensive-hydrocephalic syndrome, epilepsy, paralysis and paresis, hypothalamic syndrome, damage to the cranial nerves (strabismus, ptosis of the upper eyelid, hearing loss, facial asymmetry, etc.).

Which doctor should I contact?

If typical acute symptoms appear, it is necessary to call an ambulance team, which, upon making a preliminary diagnosis of meningitis, will refer the patient to the infectious diseases inpatient department. In case of erased forms and a weak clinical picture (typical for older people), the patient needs to contact a local physician at his place of residence, who, if he suspects meningitis, will refer the patient to an infectious disease specialist and other specialized specialists for further examination and confirmation of the diagnosis.