What is pneumococcal meningitis?

• Pneumococcal meningitis is a type of bacterial meningitis.It is an inflammation or infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord caused by the pneumococcus bacterium.
  
  
• It is the most common cause of meningitis in adults and the second most common cause of meningitis in children older than 6.
  
  
• Complication of Pneumococcal meningitis is deafness, paralysis of various muscles, mental retardation
  
  

Treatment
Antibiotics therapy should be started as soon as possible. Penicillin,chloramphenicol, or ceftriaxone are some medications that are used.

What are the symptoms of pneumococcal meningitis?

The symptoms of pneymococcal meningitis are high fever, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light(photophobia), and mental status changes.


This is a picture of organism pneumococci. This organism is typically associated with pneumonia, but may cause infection in other organs such as the brain(pneumococcal meningitis) and blood stream

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