• Two US citizens died after contracting meningitis while getting treatment in a hospital in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros.

• Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said a contamination caused these deaths. 

• Medication used for anesthesia in plastic surgeries got contaminated and was used at two private hospitals.

• Almost 400 people in the US and Mexico are being monitored.

• Officials in the US and Mexico have asked the World Health Organisation to declare a public health emergency of international concern over a deadly fungal outbreak.

Meningitis

• Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating disease and remains a major public health challenge.

• It is usually caused by infection. It can be fatal and requires immediate medical care.

• Meningitis can be caused by several species of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Most infections can be transmitted from person to person. Injuries, cancers and drugs cause a small number of cases.

• Bacterial meningitis is the most common dangerous type of meningitis and can be fatal within 24 hours. 

• Bacterial meningitis leads to around 250,000 deaths a year and can cause fast-spreading epidemics, killing one in ten of those infected who are mostly children and young people.

• It also leaves one in five with long-lasting disability, such as seizures, hearing and vision loss, neurological damage, and cognitive impairment. 

• Meningitis can affect people of any age.

• There are effective treatments and vaccines against some of the main bacterial causes of meningitis. However, meningitis remains a significant threat around the world.

• The highest burden of disease is seen in a region of sub-Saharan Africa, known as the African Meningitis Belt, especially recognised to be at high risk of epidemics of meningococcal but also pneumococcal meningitis.

• Higher risk is seen when people are living in close proximity, for example at mass gatherings, in refugee camps, in overcrowded households or in student, military and other occupational settings. 

• Immune deficiencies such as HIV infection or complement deficiency, immunosuppression, and active or passive smoking can also raise the risk of different types of meningitis.

Symptoms

• The most common symptoms of meningitis are a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headache and vomiting. 

• Even with early diagnosis and adequate treatment, 5-10 per cent of patients die, typically within 24 to 48 hours after the onset of symptoms. 

• Bacterial meningitis may result in brain damage, hearing loss or a learning disability in 10-20 per cent of survivors. 

• A less common, but even more severe (and often fatal), form of meningococcal disease is meningococcal septicaemia, which is characterised by a haemorrhagic rash and rapid circulatory collapse.   

• Any person who shows signs or symptoms of meningitis should seek immediate care at a hospital or health centre.

Vaccines

Licensed vaccines against meningococcal disease have been available for more than 40 years. Over time, there have been major improvements in strain coverage and vaccine availability. However, no universal vaccine against meningococcal disease exists. Vaccines are serogroup specific and the protection they confer is of varying duration, depending on which type is used.

Defeating meningitis by 2030

• The WHO is aiming to eliminate the most deadly form of meningitis by 2030 through increased awareness and access to treatments, global plans launched by the UN-agency to combat the inflammatory disease showed.

• The first-ever roadmap to defeat bacterial meningitis, aims to reduce deaths by 70 per cent and halve the number of cases by 2030, in addition to reducing disability caused by the disease.

• Its focus is on preventing infections and improving care and diagnosis for those affected by bacterial meningitis.

The road map sets a comprehensive vision for 2030 “Towards a world free of meningitis”, with three visionary goals:

i) Elimination of bacterial meningitis epidemics.

ii) Reduction of cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50 per cent and deaths by 70 per cent.

iii) Reduction of disability and improvement of quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.

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