On April 14, 2010 my classmates and I watched a video by NOVA about bacterial meningitis (Neisseria meningitidis) called; Killer Disease on Campus; Meningococcal Meningitis. Meningitis targets the young and the immune compromised such as young children but lately it has also been targeting young adults who are freshman in college. It is a fast acting bacteria that is commonly found in the throat, where it does no harm, but for a reason unknown to scientists, the bacteria sometimes penetrates the walls of the throat and enters the blood stream. Once in the blood stream the bacteria releases a deadly endotoxin and a person infected goes from healthy to deathly ill in sometimes just hours. Soon white blood cells engulf the bacteria which then cause the release of more concentrated bubbles full of endotoxin as well as chemicals which make the blood vessels very sticky. Blood vessel walls start getting stripped away and platelets rush to plug the damaged area. Clots then start to form and blood vessels get blocked and start to disintegrate because the proteins that are supposed to prevent clotting were destroyed by the endotoxin. Hemorrhaging into other tissues occurs, killing tissues throughout the extremities. A purple rash on the skin is a sign of the hemorrhaging and tissue damage and if the infected person isn’t treated quickly he/she may loose fingers, toes or even hands and legs. The endotoxin also targets vital organs such as the heart and causes them to shut down.
There are two ways a person can die from bacterial meningitis; blood sepsis and brain swelling. Blood sepsis also known as blood poisoning is the release of endotoxin into the blood which causes rupturing of blood vessels and shuts down vital organs as I explained above. Brain swelling is caused when the bacteria infects the meninges (lining) of the brain causing them to swell and put pressure on nerves as well as the brain. Sometimes if the swelling gets bad enough the drain which drains the...