In order to grasp the vastness of the meningitis, one must first understand its definition, causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatments. Meningitis is a disease that affects more than twenty-six hundred people in the United States each year. Five to ten percent of these people die from the disease and another eleven to nineteen percent suffer serious affects such as loss of limbs or deafness.

Meningitis is the infection of one's meninges or spinal fluid. The meninges are the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal column. There are three meninges, the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater. These become infected and can cause swelling of the brain tissue or in some cases the spinal tissue. When these things swell less blood is pumped to them which can cause serious damage.

There are three main types of meningitis. These are viral, bacterial and fungal...