What are meningitis and septicaemia?

Meningitis and septicaemia can kill in hours.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord.

Septicaemia is the blood poisoning form of the disease.

The two forms of the disease have different symptoms. People who recover from meningitis and septicaemia may be left with a range of after effects that dramatically alter their lives.

Meningitis is usually bacterial or viral, and occasionally is due to fungal infections, although almost any microbe can cause it.

Viral meningitis can be very unpleasant but it is almost never life threatening and most people quickly make a full recovery.

Bacterial meningitis is more serious and can be caused by a range of different bacteria.

Most cases in the UK and Ireland are caused by meningococcal bacteria.

Meningococcal bacteria can cause meningitis, septicaemia or both. Most people who get the disease have some symptoms of both meningococcal meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia; together these two forms of the disease are known as meningococcal disease.

Septicaemia is the more life threatening form of the disease and is more dangerous when there are no signs of meningitis.

Other major forms of bacterial meningitis are:

• Pneumococcal
• Haemophilus infuenzae b (Hib)

Bacterial forms that mostly, though not exclusively, affect newborn babies are:

• Group B Streptococcal (GBS)
• E. coli
• Listeria 

There are vaccines available against some types of meningitis and septicaemia which have reduced the number of cases in the UK and Ireland:

• Meningococcal Group C (MenC)
• Pneumococcal vaccine in the UK
• Pneumococcal vaccine in Irelan
• Haemophilus infuenzae b (Hib)

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