Systemic Infections in Microbiology: Nervous System Infections

Tetanus toxin causes muscle spasms and lockjaw.

A patient with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) may show many holes in the brain upon examination.

Rabies Virus infects only the spinal cord but not the nerves.

Herpes Viruses can cause Chickenpox but not shingles.

Children with a runny nose and cold symptoms are more likely to develop Rabies Virus infection.

Elevated temperature, rapid pulse, and stiff neck are typical signs of nervous system infections.

One in five people surviving an episode of bacterial meningitis may have no long-lasting after-effects.

Haemophilus species are Gram-positive coccobacilli.

Neisseria meningitidis is also known as Pneumococcus.

Haemophilus influenzae is most common in young children.

Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the four main causes of acute bacterial meningitis.

Meningococcus, pneumococcus, and haemophilus influenzae cause more than half of the deaths from meningitis globally.

Meningococcus, pneumococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae are carried in the human nose and throat.

Group B streptococcus is often carried in the human liver or vagina.

Ciprofloxacin is the antibiotic of choice for preventing meningococcal disease.

Meningitis is fatal in up to a quarter of patients.

In epidemics of meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis, ampicillin is the drug of choice.

Intravenous penicillin is offered to mothers during labor to prevent group B streptococcal disease from spreading to the child.