New Meningitis Case, Total is Now Four
The total cases of meningitis is now at four, the latest case is of Carolina Araya, who was admitted to the Hospital México yesterday.

Dr. Armando Villalobos confirmed the latest case of the woman who had gone to the emergency room on Tuesday night and was moved to the Intensive Care ward yesterday.

Araya, who is from Heredia, is a student at the Academia Nacional de Policía (National Police Academy) in San José. All 1.200 students, staff and personnel at the Academy were given yesterday an antibiotic to ward of the illness.

Tuesday it was announced that Kaine Sandoval, who is an employee of Royal Scientific, located in Heredia, where the first cases of the Meningitis were discovered, is being kept in isolation at the San Vicente de Paúl hospital in Heredia.

Jeremías Bravo, of Heredia, and José Carranza, of Alajuela died of bacterial meningitis during the past two weeks.

Health authorities are ruling out that there is an outbreak of meningitis.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The inflammation is usually caused by bacteria or viruses (viral meningitis is also called aseptic meningitis).

Many of the bacteria or viruses that can cause meningitis are fairly common and are more often associated with other everyday illnesses. Sometimes, however, they spread to the meninges from an infection in another part of the body. The infection can start anywhere, including in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, or urinary system, but the most common source is the respiratory tract.

From there the microorganisms can enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and enter the central nervous system. In some cases of bacterial meningitis, the bacteria spread directly to the meninges from a severe nearby infection, such as a serious ear infection (otitis media) or nasal sinus infection (sinusitis). Bacteria may also enter the central nervous system after severe head trauma or head surgery.

Bacterial meningitis is less common than viral meningitis but is usually much more serious and can be life-threatening if not treated promptly.

Bacterial meningitis occurs in people of all ages but is more common in the very young (infants and young children) and the elderly (people above age 60).


Bacterial meningitis
A variety of organisms can cause bacterial meningitis, a serious form that can be fatal, especially in children. Symptoms include high fever, headache, chills, vomiting, stiff neck or back, and confusion, sometimes accompanied by a purplish rash. Serious cases can quickly lead to delirium, coma, or convulsions. It is spread by oral or nasal secretions.

The leading cause of bacterial meningitis is the ill-named bacterium Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib), originally thought to be an influenza virus. It commonly affects infants and children. The second most common bacterial cause of meningitis is Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus). Meningococcal meningitis affects people of all ages and tends to occur in epidemics, especially among those who live in crowded conditions. An outbreak in the slums of Brazil in 1974–75 killed 11,000 people and left over 75,000 with permanent neurological complications. In 1996, an epidemic centered in the Sahel region of W Africa killed 16,000. In the United States it is seen most often in children and teens.

Strepococcus pneumoniae, also referred to as pneumococcus, is another cause of serious meningitis cases. It is the most common cause of meningitis in adults. It often accompanies pneumococcus infections in other parts of the body, such as the ear or sinuses. Other bacterial causes of meningitis include tuberculosis, leptospirosis, and Lyme disease.


Bacterial meningitis calls for emergency medical care and the administration of antibiotics. Close contacts of patients with bacterial meningitis may receive prophylactic antibiotics, such as rifampin.

Definitive diagnosis can be made by laboratory tests of cerebrospinal fluid obtained by a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). Twenty to thirty percent of children who survive bacterial meningitis sustain permanent neurological damage such as deafness, mental retardation, or convulsions. Since the late 1980s, routine vaccination of young children against Hib has virtually eliminated Hib disease in the United States. Routine vaccination against meningococcal meningitis is recommended for pre-adolescents, and vaccination is also recommended for persons in the military or traveling to parts of Africa where the disease is endemic. The meningococcal vaccine does not provide protection against all meningococcus strains.