Meningitis

doi:10.1017/9781009052733.025

Chapter 24 - Meningitis

from Section 4 - Major Common Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 June 2025

Edited by

Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,

Michael Marks and

David Mabey: Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber: Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda: Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu: Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem: Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin: Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks: Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey: Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

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Summary

Meningitis, a clinical syndrome that results from inflammation of the meninges, can be caused by a wide range of organisms – viruses, bacteria, yeasts or helminths and, rarely, it has a non-infectious cause (Table 24.1). Inflammation of the pia and arachnoid membranes results in the leakage of plasma proteins across the blood–brain barrier and the accumulation of inflammatory cells and proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid.

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Type: Chapter
Information: Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 316 - 328

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009052733.025 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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