What Meningitis Actually Is
Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can live quietly in the nose and throat for days or even months without any symptoms. Then it slips into the bloodstream and inflames the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It can move terrifyingly fast.
- How it works: A bacteria most people carry harmlessly; until it isn't.
- How it spreads: Closer contact than you'd think; shared drinks, dorm rooms, a cough.
- What it costs: Case-fatality rates, hospital bills, and a toll that doesn't show up on a chart.
- The breakthrough: A vaccine that didn't exist a decade ago, and does now.
Here's the part worth repeating: in every measurable sense, it's preventable.
