World Meningitis Day is taking place on the 5 October 2025 to bring awareness and understanding to the infection and some of the devastating outcomes to the individuals who suffer from the infection. Coordinated by the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, it was started in 2009 and in the year’s since, it has become a global movement, bringing together a global community affected by meningitis.

In 2021, the Meningitis Research Foundation launched the first roadmap of a Worldwide mission to defeat meningitis by 2030. They advise that anyone can get involved by getting vaccinated, spreading the word about signs of meningitis, sharing stories about how you have been affected by meningitis or someone you know who has had meningitis or calling on the government to raise awareness on the severity of the disease and the importance of knowing the signs.

Why World Meningitis Day is so important

• It is estimated that there are 2.5 million new cases of meningitis across the globe every year.
• Meningitis and neonatal sepsis combined are a leading cause of severe intellectual disability globally.
• It kills 1 in 10 people and causes lifelong disability in 1 in 5 survivors

So what is meningitis?

Meningitis is an infection of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord called the “meninges”. The infection breaches the barrier, known as the “blood brain barrier”, moving into the central nervous system (CNS) and once the infection reaches the brain, it increases rapidly due to there being a slower response from the white blood cells in your body to reach the infected area. This causes a severe inflammation of the meninges and brain.

The two main types of meningitis are viral meningitis and bacterial meningitis. The most common viral causes of meningitis include enterovirus, mumps virus, herpes simple virus. Viral meningitis tends to get better on its own within 7 to 10 days and can often be treated at home. It rarely causes any long term problems following the viral meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis is by contrast very aggressive; it develops rapidly and can kill in hours. The most common bacteria that cause meningitis include meningococcal bacteria – there are several different types, called A, B, C, W, X, Y and Z, pneumococcal bacteria and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) bacteria. Unlike viral meningitis, bacterial meningitis needs to be treated in a clinical setting, usually a hospital, and treatment will include IV antibiotics which have a faster acting response to the infection than oral antibiotics.

If an individual is recognised as having bacterial meningitis early enough in the infective process, they have the best change of making a full recovery. However, if the bacterial caused infection is not treated quickly enough, the individual can be left with life-long consequences. As this is an infection in the brain it can cause severe brain damage. Other injuries that can result from bacterial meningitis include:

• hearing loss or vision loss, which may be partial or total
• problems with memory and concentration · recurrent seizures (epilepsy)
• co-ordination, movement and balance problems · loss of limbs – amputation of affected limbs is sometimes necessary

Symptoms

You may have heard that a rash, and a rash that stays when a glass is pressed against it, is the most common symptoms of meningitis however, this does not happen in every case of meningitis. You should not wait until a rash appears before seeking medical treatment as this may lead to the severe and even fatal consequences of meningitis.

Symptoms of meningitis:

• a high temperature
• cold hands and feet
• vomiting
• confusion
• breathing quickly
• muscle and joint pain
• pale, mottled or blotchy skin (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
• headache
• a stiff neck
• a dislike of bright lights (known as photophobia)
• being very sleepy or difficult to wake
• fits (seizures)

Babies may also:

• refuse feeds
• be irritable
• have a high-pitched cry
• have a stiff body or be floppy or unresponsive
• have a bulging soft spot on the top of their head

Who can be affected:

Anyone, anywhere at anytime.

Meningitis can affect anyone. It does not matter what age you are. The NHS confirm that those most at risk include:

• babies and young children
• teenagers and young adults
• older people · people with a weak immune system – for example, those with HIV and those having chemotherapy.

If you or a loved one have been affected by meningitis and there was a delay in diagnosis or treatment resulting in a worst outcome, you may be able to bring a clinical negligence claim. Our experienced clinical negligence team will be happy to discuss with you what has happened and how we may be able to help in respect of a potential claim.