24.04.2021 is #WorldMeningitisDay! Meningitis can affect anyone at any age. It can be fatal within a few hours and cause lifelong disability. #DefeatMeningitis - M.A.Aleem Neurologist #Trichy #Tamilnadu #India

World Meningitis Day

24 April 2021

- M.A.Aleem Neurologist #Trichy #Tamilnadu #India 

World Meningitis Day helps to raise awareness about meningitis - a potentially deadly disease that can kill in a matter of hours or cause lifelong disability.

Meningitis continues to be a major global public health issue causing up to 5 million cases each year, including epidemics of new strains that spread between countries and across the world.

In November 2020, the Seventy-Third World Health Assembly approved the first ever resolution on meningitis prevention and control and the Defeating meningitis by 2030 global road map. WHO supports efforts to #DefeatMeningitis in light of this new global strategy that aims to eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics and reduce deaths and disability from the disease.

What you should know

Meningitis can strike everyone and at all ages – it can be fatal within a few hours and cause lifelong disability.

Meningitis epidemics can happen fast with serious health, economic and social consequences.  

Meningitis is a medical emergency and must be treated quickly. 

Symptoms of meningitis can include:

◦ stiff neck;

◦ fever;

◦ sensitivity to light;

◦ confusion and drowsiness;

◦ headaches;

◦ vomiting;

◦ rash;

◦ seizures;

◦ infants may:

   - have a bulging fontanelle (soft spot)

   - be droopy and unresponsive

◦  Not everyone will get all of these symptoms and they can occur in any order.

Vaccination against meningococcus, pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type b protect against common causes of meningitis. New vaccines will save more lives over the next decade.

Meningitis is one of the leading causes of neurological disability, which can last a lifetime – the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 global road map addresses this issue alongside prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

By 2030, countries have committed to:

◦ eliminating bacterial meningitis epidemics;

◦ reducing cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%;

◦ reducing disability and improving the quality of life for meningitis survivors