Meningiococcal Disease essays

Meningiococcal Disease essays Meningiococcal disease is a worldwide killer that can be described as the combination of both meningitis and septicemia. It is caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Meningiococcal disease can come in many forms and usually produces an array of subtle symptoms that quickly progress until it creates a life-or-death situation. Luckily there are vaccines for almost all of the strains known to mankind and epidemics are very rare. The two key aspects of Meningiococcal disease are meningitis and septicemia. Meningitis is a condition that occurs when invading organisms leave the blood stream that they have entered the body through, break through the blood-brain barrier, and infect the meninges that cover the brain and spinal cord. These foreign invaders release toxins that cause the membranes to become inflamed. Eventually this inflammation leads to coma, and possibly death. On the other hand, septicemia occurs when the invading organisms stay in the bloodstream and begin to multiply rapidly. When they release their toxins, the walls of the blood vessels break down and blood begins to leak into surrounding tissues. This will eventually lead to a chain of deadly events, including the failure of the circulatory system, shock, organ destruction, and death. Researchers have recently discovered that there are two key proteins, thrombomodulin and endothelial Protein C receptor, that are lost during septicemia. These two proteins are in charge of activating the Protein C complex that inhibits the clotting of blood and the loss of this critical protein results in the widespread clotting that occurs during septicemia (Blood Weekly). Most of the time when one is affected by meningitis, one is also affected by septicemia, therefore creating meningiococcal disease but on the other hand, septicemia is frequently present without symptoms of meningitis (and is usually more deadly in this form). As menti...