Meningitis does not have to be fatal
Mar 27, 2007
When Fatuma Namusoke’s child was diagnosed with meningitis, she panicked, rushed all her other children for immunisation and advised relatives against visiting.
By Halima Shaban
When Fatuma Namusoke’s child was diagnosed with meningitis, she panicked, rushed all her other children for immunisation and advised relatives against visiting.
“With 143 people dying in northern Uganda, what chance did we have?†she said.
But doctors assured her that meningitis is curable.
Dr. Charles Mukisa, a medical officer at Kinyara Sugar workers’ healthcentre, says meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.
If not treated, meningitis rapidly progresses to loss of consciousness and death, within days.
But the commissioner of health services in the Ministry of Health, Sam Okware, says that depends on the type of meningitis you contract.
There are three types of meningitis: viral, bacterial and fungal and they all have the same symptoms.
Symptoms of meningitis
High fever, headache and stiff neck, common in anyone over the age of two. Nausea, vomiting, discomfort when looking into bright light, confusion and sleepiness are other symptoms.
In newborns and infants, the classic symptoms of fever, headache and neck stiffness, may be absent or difficult to detect and the infant may only appear slow or inactive, be irritable or feed poorly, as the disease progresses.
These symptoms can develop over several hours or one to two days.
However, meningitis can only be diagnosed by a health worker.
Viral meningitis
Patients with viral meningitis may get extremely ill during the early stages, but will usually recover, even without specific treatment.
“Viral meningitis is an infection by any one of a number of different viruses. Patients usually recover and outbreaks are rare,†Mukisa says.
Okware adds that how the virus spreads, depends on what type it is.
Some are spread by person to person contact and others, by insects. Viral meningitis is common in children and is always associated with mumps.
Bacterial meningitis
This is spread by bacteria and can be quite severe. It may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.
“Bacterial meningitis is rampant in arid areas and can be treated with effective antibiotics. It is important, however, that treatment be started early in the course of the disease,†Okware says.
According to Mukisa, appropriate antibiotic treatment of common bacterial meningitis, should reduce the risk of death to below 15%, although the risk remains higher among the elderly.
There are three types of bacterial meningitis; Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), streptococcus pneumonia and Neisseria meningitides.
“In Uganda, the latter is the most common,†Okware says.
Fungal meningitis
This is not common in Uganda. Symptoms are headache, drowsiness and confusion. It is caused by an organism called Cryptococcus Neoformans, an organism from bird droppings.
Alternative treatment;
David Ssali, a herbalist with Damah Medical Herbs, says meningitis can be treated with local herbs. “Most diseases are brought about by people not being well-informed of how their whole internal system (body) works,†Ssali says.
For meningitis, he prescribes aloe vera that helps eliminate bacteria in the body. After a while, the patient should be given fresh fruit juice, preferably lemon or pawpaw juice.
Ssali says it is better to eat garlic before administering treatment or getting in touch with the patient because garlic acts as a preventative measure against the disease.
When Fatuma Namusoke’s child was diagnosed with meningitis, she panicked, rushed all her other children for immunisation and advised relatives against visiting.
“With 143 people dying in northern Uganda, what chance did we have?†she said.
But doctors assured her that meningitis is curable.
Dr. Charles Mukisa, a medical officer at Kinyara Sugar workers’ healthcentre, says meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.
If not treated, meningitis rapidly progresses to loss of consciousness and death, within days.
But the commissioner of health services in the Ministry of Health, Sam Okware, says that depends on the type of meningitis you contract.
There are three types of meningitis: viral, bacterial and fungal and they all have the same symptoms.
Symptoms of meningitis
High fever, headache and stiff neck, common in anyone over the age of two. Nausea, vomiting, discomfort when looking into bright light, confusion and sleepiness are other symptoms.
In newborns and infants, the classic symptoms of fever, headache and neck stiffness, may be absent or difficult to detect and the infant may only appear slow or inactive, be irritable or feed poorly, as the disease progresses.
These symptoms can develop over several hours or one to two days.
However, meningitis can only be diagnosed by a health worker.
Viral meningitis
Patients with viral meningitis may get extremely ill during the early stages, but will usually recover, even without specific treatment.
“Viral meningitis is an infection by any one of a number of different viruses. Patients usually recover and outbreaks are rare,†Mukisa says.
Okware adds that how the virus spreads, depends on what type it is.
Some are spread by person to person contact and others, by insects. Viral meningitis is common in children and is always associated with mumps.
Bacterial meningitis
This is spread by bacteria and can be quite severe. It may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.
“Bacterial meningitis is rampant in arid areas and can be treated with effective antibiotics. It is important, however, that treatment be started early in the course of the disease,†Okware says.
According to Mukisa, appropriate antibiotic treatment of common bacterial meningitis, should reduce the risk of death to below 15%, although the risk remains higher among the elderly.
There are three types of bacterial meningitis; Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), streptococcus pneumonia and Neisseria meningitides.
“In Uganda, the latter is the most common,†Okware says.
Fungal meningitis
This is not common in Uganda. Symptoms are headache, drowsiness and confusion. It is caused by an organism called Cryptococcus Neoformans, an organism from bird droppings.
Alternative treatment;
David Ssali, a herbalist with Damah Medical Herbs, says meningitis can be treated with local herbs. “Most diseases are brought about by people not being well-informed of how their whole internal system (body) works,†Ssali says.
For meningitis, he prescribes aloe vera that helps eliminate bacteria in the body. After a while, the patient should be given fresh fruit juice, preferably lemon or pawpaw juice.
Ssali says it is better to eat garlic before administering treatment or getting in touch with the patient because garlic acts as a preventative measure against the disease.