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Bacterial Meningitis in Childhood

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Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VIII

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 719))

Abstract

A wide variety of pathogens cause childhood meningitis and clinical features and ­outcomes vary according to the organism. Bacterial meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is of particular importance as it has a high mortality and morbidity, has been relatively common and is treatable with antibiotics. In the last two decades widespread introduction of highly effective conjugate vaccines against these pathogens in many industrialised countries has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of bacterial meningitis, although there is still a substantial global burden of disease, predominantly occurring in resource-poor countries, where case-fatality rates are higher and long-term sequelae are more common.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Manish Sadarangani & Andrew J. Pollard

Authors
  1. Manish Sadarangani
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  2. Andrew J. Pollard
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Correspondence to Manish Sadarangani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Children's Hosp., Dept. Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia

    Nigel Curtis

  2. Institute of Child Life and Health, UBHT Education Centre, University of Bristol, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS2 8AE, United Kingdom

    Adam Finn

  3. University of Oxford, Level 4,John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, United Kingdom

    Andrew J. Pollard

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Sadarangani, M., Pollard, A.J. (2012). Bacterial Meningitis in Childhood. In: Curtis, N., Finn, A., Pollard, A. (eds) Hot Topics in Infection and Immunity in Children VIII. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 719. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0204-6_16

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