Infectious Meningitis

Infectious meningitis is a large public health concern, especially in children and immunocompromised patients. Although the epidemiology of meningitis has shown significant decline in past decades, partly due to the introduction of vaccines, outbreaks are still reported worldwide. Diagnosis of meningitis is of critical importance, and it is considered to be one of the most urgent of the microbiological medical emergencies. In order to improve the treatment strategy, various diagnostic methods have been developed to detect the presence of infectious agents that cause meningitis, as well as their antibiotic resistance patterns. This article aims to enhance the understanding of meningitis and to highlight the most current updates that describe outbreaks of meningitis and the subsequent investigations. We also describe the current diagnosis and treatment options.