Even with the early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, ~15% of patients die often within 24 to 48 hours of symptom onset.²,⁶ Its early symptoms can resemble the flu, and be misdiagnosed,¹⁸ so watch out for these first appearing symptoms:¹⁶ The average onset time of these early common symptoms is about 7-12 hours, with symptoms lasting about 4 hours in younger children and 8 hours in adolescents.¹⁶
After that, the meningococcal meningitis specific symptoms will begin, including neck stiffness, photophobia and bulging fontanelle. The average onset time of these symptoms is about 12 to 15 hours from disease onset. The last indicators (such as unconsciousness, delirium, or seizures) are seen in babies less than 1 year of age at an average of 15 hours and around 24 hours in older children.¹⁶
In most children, the disease can progress very rapidly.¹⁶
The average time to hospitalization was found to range between 13-22 hours across infants through teenage patients.¹⁶
Symptoms may progress over time.¹⁶,¹⁸
Meningococcal disease can be difficult to diagnose, awareness of symptoms could enable early detection.¹⁶
Person to person contact can lead to contracting meningococcal meningitis, and it can be as simple as your baby sharing a toy.¹,²⁰ Here's how Meningococcal meningitis can spread from person to person:¹,²,²⁰
The N. meningitidis bacteria can be transmitted through close or prolonged person-to-person contact.²⁰ It often invades the defenses of the body and spreads into the brain through the bloodstream, which could potentially lead to death in just 24-48 hours.²,⁶
Fortunately, meningococcal meningitis is not airborne however, one out of ten people can be carriers without showing symptoms or being ill.²⁰
