HealthInfo Canterbury

Meningitis

Kiriuhi uakakā

 

Meningitis is inflammation of the lining (membrane) around the brain and spinal cord. It's usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection.

The bacteria or virus infects the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. This causes swelling and inflammation of the lining.

Bacterial meningitis is very serious and can be life-threatening. It needs immediate medical attention. Several types of bacteria can cause bacterial meningitis. The most common type is the meningococcal bacteria.

Viral meningitis is more common but less severe than bacterial meningitis.

Other less common causes of meningitis include parasitic and fungal infections.

It's important that doctors know what has caused the meningitis since the treatments differ depending on the cause.

Risk factors for meningitis

Anyone can get meningitis but it's more common in:

• pēpi (babies) and young tamariki (children) under 5 years, teenagers and young adults
• people living in overcrowded housing or shared accommodation, such as universities and boarding schools
• people with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of meningitis

Meningitis can kill. If you think that you or your tamaiti (child) has the symptoms listed below, seek urgent medical attention.

Meningitis symptoms can develop slowly over several days or very quickly over a few hours. A person with meningitis may only have some of the symptoms. The symptoms don't develop in any particular order.

Common symptoms of meningitis include:

• a fever (high temperature), although their hands and feet may feel cold
• a headache, which may be severe
• a stiff neck
• vomiting
• muscle and joint aches and pains
• sensitivity to bright light
• drowsiness and confusion (being hard to wake them).

Common symptoms in pēpi include:

• irritability, especially when being picked up
• dislike of bright lights – they'll shut their eyes and turn away from the light
• a fever, but they may not look hot and their skin may be pale or turn blue
• cold hands and feet
• being sleepy, floppy or hard to wake
• back arching
• high-pitched excessive crying
• poor feeding or not waking for feeds
• a bulging fontanelle (the soft spots on the head of a pēpi),

Treating meningitis

The treatment will depend on the cause of the infection and how severe it is. If the cause is bacterial meningitis, it will be treated with high-dose antibiotics.

Preventing meningitis

To reduce the risk of meningitis, make sure you have good hand hygiene. Also, don't share personal items such as drink bottles, eating utensils, toothbrushes and lipsticks.

There are some vaccines available for the bacteria and viruses that can cause meningitis.

Meningococcal disease is a common cause of meningitis. Several meningococcal vaccines are available in New Zealand. The meningococcal B vaccine is offered to all children under 5 years as part of the National Immunisation Schedule.

Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health funds free vaccinations for groups of people with a high risk of meningococcal disease. They also recommend but don't fund vaccinations for other groups of people. See Meningococcal disease (including meningitis) (click the Prevention tab) for details.

  HealthInfo recommends the following videos

• Healthify He Puna Wairoa – Meningitis

  More about meningitis symptoms and risks.

• Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health – Meningococcal C: You're better to be safe than sorry

  A family talks about their experience with meningococcal disease and meningitis.

  HealthInfo recommends the following pages

• Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health – Meningococcal disease – don't wait, take action

  The symptoms of meningococcal disease and what should you do if someone in your household has those symptoms.

  Versions are also available in te reo Māori, Samoan and Tongan.

• KidsHealth – Meningococcal disease

  Factsheet and links to resources about meningococcal disease.

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed May 2022.

Sources

Page reference: 49770

Review key: HIMGD-49770