IV.

Treatment and Prevention

It is imperative to seek immediate medical attention if the symptoms of meningitis develop in order to determine whether the meningitis is viral or bacterial. Any delays in treating bacterial meningitis can lead to stroke, severe brain damage, and even death. Patients with bacterial meningitis are usually hospitalized and given large doses of intravenous antibiotics. The specific antibiotic used depends on the bacterium responsible for the infection. Antibiotic therapy is very effective, and if treatment begins in time, the risk of dying from bacterial meningitis today is less than 15 percent.

No specific treatment is available for viral meningitis. With bed rest, plenty of fluids, and medicine to reduce fever and control headache, most patients recover from viral meningitis within a week or two and suffer no lasting effects.

Good hygiene to prevent the spread of viruses is the only method of preventing viral meningitis. To help prevent the spread of bacterial meningitis, antibiotics are sometimes given to family members and other people who have had close contact with patients who develop the disease. Vaccines are also available against some of the bacteria that can cause meningitis. A vaccine against one strain of Haemophilus influenzae, once the most common cause of bacterial meningitis, was introduced during the 1980s and has been a part of routine childhood immunization in the United States since 1990. This vaccine has dramatically reduced the number of cases of bacterial meningitis. Vaccines also exist for certain strains of Neisseria meningitidis and Streptococcus pneumoniae but are not a part of routine immunization. The Neisseria meningitidis vaccine is given to military recruits and people who are planning travel to areas of the world where outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis are common. The Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine is recommended for people over age 65.