Treating meningitis

Meningitis is a potentially serious condition due to the proximity of the inflammation to the brain and spinal cord.

THE bacterium Neisseria meningitides causes meningitis, which is an infection of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord, and septicaemia, which is an infection of the blood. There are at least twelve groups of the bacterium, which are characterised by differences in its capsule. Groups A, B and C cause the majority of meningococcal meningitis. The Y and W135 groups are increasingly important as they have been the cause of recent outbreaks and epidemics.