Increase in Meningitis Fatalities a cause
for concern say Experts
Health
Organizations around the world to observe World Meningitis Day
Mumbai, April 17, 2012:
Every year on World Meningitis Day, health organizations all over the
world come together to warn the public about the dangers of meningitis and
encourage prevention through vaccination. The
World Meningitis Day falls on April 24.
Instituted in
2009 by the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMo), World Meningitis
Day aims to bring medical experts, survivors and parents from around the world
to raise awareness about meningitis.
On the
occasion of World Meningitis Day, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) seeks
to alert the parents about the impact of pediatric infectious diseases and
highlight the benefits of vaccination in preventing avoidable deaths from such
diseases.
Meningitis is
the inflammation caused by a viral or bacterial infection, of the membranes
surrounding the spinal cord and brain. While viral meningitis heals on its own,
bacterial meningitis has the potential to get acute without timely
intervention. Those most at risk are children under the age of five.
Acute
bacterial meningitis strikes with little or no warning and can be fatal making
it a medical emergency that requires
aggressive therapy. Initial symptoms of bacterial meningitis include sudden
onset of fever, headache, stiff-neck, dislike of bright light, nausea, vomiting
and drowsiness. Laboratory tests in addition to the initial clinical signs of
meningitis are important for early diagnosis in order to avert the acute stage
of meningitis. Those who survive often suffer from irreversible brain damage,
mental retardation, epilepsy and deafness.
Infectious
diseases such as Meningitis, Pneumonia, Diphtheria and Pertussis kill many
children in India and around the world. Over the years, the Indian Academy of
Pediatrics (IAP) has been spreading awareness about infectious diseases that
affect children.
Dr.
-------------- says, “Infectious diseases like meningitis and pneumonia attack
infants because of their low immunity and can prove fatal if not diagnosed and
treated on time.” Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that protects children from 13
disease-causing strains and vaccine for haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) are
both available in India.
A study of 26
pyogenic (pus producing) meningitis patients at the Christian Medical College,
Vellore, showed that 69% of them were pneumococcal; 27% were Hib and 4% were N.
Meningitis.
Dr. …….says, “In
spite of the appropriate use of antibiotics, the mortality rate due to acute
bacterial meningitis has been noticeably high in India (16-32%). Increasing incidence
of antibiotic resistance also underscores the importance of prevention through
vaccination.”
