What is the difference between spinal meningitis and encephalitis?

What is the difference between spinal meningitis and encephalitis?

Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain itself.

How is viral meningitis and encephalitis diagnosed?

How are encephalitis and meningitis diagnosed?

1. Neurological examination.
2. Blood tests.
3. Imaging tests such as computerized tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging.
4. Examination of cerebrospinal fluid (a fluid present in the brain and spinal cord)

Is encephalitis similar to meningitis?

Encephalitis is the medical term for inflammation of the brain. Meningitis is the medical term for inflammation of the meninges. The meninges are protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms of encephalitis and meningitis are similar, but not identical.

How can you tell the difference between bacterial and viral encephalitis?

Viral meningitis presents with similar symptoms to bacterial meningitis such as fever, headache, dislike of lights and neck stiffness. It can present with a rash, but this is normally quite different to the rash seen in bacterial meningitis with meningococcal disease. Viral meningitis is almost never life-threatening.

What is the difference between viral meningitis and bacterial meningitis?

While there are similarities between the two – such as common initial symptoms and the population demographics most at risk of infection – bacterial meningitis is often more severe, and can be life-threatening if not treated. In contrast, patients with viral meningitis often recover on their own within 7 to 10 days.

What are the different types of encephalitis?

There are two main types of encephalitis:

• Primary encephalitis. This condition occurs when a virus or other agent directly infects the brain.
• Secondary encephalitis. This condition results from a faulty immune system reaction to an infection elsewhere in the body.

What are the two types of meningitis?

Types of meningitis

• Viral meningitis. Viral meningitis is the most common type of meningitis.
• Bacterial meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is contagious and caused by infection from certain bacteria.
• Fungal meningitis. Fungal meningitis is a rare type of meningitis.
• Parasitic meningitis.
• Non-infectious meningitis.

What’s the difference between bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis?

Meningitis is an infection of the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges). Viral meningitis is an infection caused by viruses and bacterial meningitis is an infection caused by bacteria.

Can you have meningitis and encephalitis at the same time?

It’s possible to have both encephalitis and meningitis at the same time. This condition is called meningoencephalitis. This happens when the thin layers of tissue that surround your brain and spinal cord become inflamed in addition to swelling and inflammation in your brain itself.

What is the most common type of encephalitis?

The most common causes of viral encephalitis are herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus and enteroviruses, which cause gastrointestinal illness. Encephalitis can also result from certain viruses carried by mosquitoes, ticks and other insects or animals such as: West Nile virus.