How does one get bacterial meningitis?
Great questions. There are several different types of bacterial meningitis. Overall, the most common is the one caused by a bacteria called Streptococcu pneumoniae. Another common one is caused by Neiserria meningitidis. Less common ones include the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyoenes and Listeria monocytogenes. There are rare cases of Staphylococcus aureus causing meningitis. You get bacteril meningitis by being exposed to one of the bacteria that causes it. The bacteria usually starts in your throat and can cross into your blood where it eventually makes its way to the lining around your brain. Some types of meningitis can start elsewhere (skin, genital tract, intestine) and then get to your brain, but this is by far the exception. Who gets them most often depends on which bug. S. pneumoniae tends to affect young children and older people more than the rest. N. meningitidis affects little kids and teenagers, H. influenzae is only in really small k
