title: Bacterial meningitis--1982.
abstract: The etiologic agents in bacterial meningitis vary with time, geography, and patient age. Predominant pathogens are Escherichia coli, group B streptococci, Listeria monocytogenes, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Approximately 70 percent of all cases occur in children under the age of five. The case-fatality rate in the United States in 1978 was 13.6 percent, but it is known that underreporting of cases, and therefore of case-fatalities, occurs. Prevention by vaccine appears to be the ultimate solution, but until a vaccine is developed emphasis should be on rapid diagnosis, improved management, and proper choice of antibiotic.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008581:Meningitis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008583:Meningitis, Haemophilus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D012703:Serotyping; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States