Many risk factors cause the appearance of meningitis in an individual. In certain forms it is a contagious illness and therefore wherever people live in groups it is able to strike more rapidly and spread easily.
Children in boarding schools, people working military installations, students living in hostels mainly comprising of dormitories are therefore all risk factors for the incidence of meningitis.
The viral form of meningitis affects children more easily than it does adults, so age is also a risk factor. Of late, vaccinations have mitigated this risk to a significant extent. Listeria are bacteria which give rise to meningitis in pregnant women. The fetus is therefore directly at risk and pregnancy becomes a risk factor. It has also been found that those who work with animals such as the staff in zoos or circuses have an increased risk of contracting meningitis. This happens because Listeria thrive in such an environment and cause listeriosis.
People with a compromised immune defense system are at greatly increased risk of contracting meningitis. Such people may develop HIV and that can cause meningococcal bacteria to invade and infect the blood of such a person. Spleen removal can greatly increase the risk of meningitis as it lowers the immune defense.
Hearing loss and meningitis are correlated with each other. A substantial number of meningitis patients undergo hearing loss to some extent. This risk factor is of more significance in meningitis patients who have been affected by the streptococcus pneumonae bacteria a trifle more so than those who have been affected by the Nisseria meningitides bacteria. So it means that bacterial form of meningitis is a significant risk for hearing reduction especially in children.
Some other risk factors have been observed to increase the risk of meningitis in affected individuals. They include smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug users. They also include people who share eating utensils, cigarettes, lipsticks, drinks, or items of daily use such as towels and toothbrushes. Kissing affected patients also becomes a risk for contracting meningitis very easily. Also at high risk are people who frequent high risk areas such as brothels.
Sometimes life saving mouth to mouth resuscitation can also serve to increase your risk of meningitis. This could happen if the person in whom you injected a fresh breath of life is already suffering from a contagious form of meningitis caused by a bacterial strain. In certain geographical regions of the world such as Africa the meningococcus bacteria breeds better than in other regions. Due to this, travelling to Africa or Asia can prove to be a risk factor in meningitis.
It is therefore important that people avoid all such risk factors and gain good health in the bargain. Taking certain important precautions after knowing all the above risk factors can help decrease the risk of meningitis in the world significantly.
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