When Was Meningitis First Discovered?

Meningitis has left a long trail of destruction throughout history, with outbreaks that date back at least one hundred years. And while advances in medicine have rendered meningitis a preventable disease, history shows that the infection ravaged many populations before it was stopped in its tracks by a vaccination in 1978. In fact, during the early 20th century, meningitis had a reputation for killing approximately eighty percent of the people that became infected.

What is Meningitis?

• Meningitis is sometimes referred to as "spinal meningitis" because it affects the outer layer of the spine. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention explains that meningitis is caused by a bacteria that causes inflammation to the protective coating of the spinal cord and brain. Meningitis is indicated by a high fever and stiff neck. Headaches are usually a factor as well, and can cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting. If meningitis is suspected, the infected patient is advised to seek medical treatment immediately.

Geneva

• In 1805, a family in Geneva was stricken by meningitis. The infection quickly spread from family to family throughout the village; ultimately taking thirty-three lives. The strain of meningitis was identified by two early physicians that referred to the infection as "cerebro-spinal meningitis." In the book "A System of Practical Medicine," author William Pepper explains that this was the first documented case of meningitis ever recorded in the history of medicine.

America

• It was not until 1806 that meningitis finally made its way across the ocean, and into the United States. In the medical journal titled "Southern California Practitioner," Dr. Walter Lindley reveals that the first documented case of meningitis in America struck a small community in Medford, Massachusetts. The epidemic attracted such attention that a group of three physicians was commissioned by the State Medical Society to investigate the disease.

The Cause

• A European physician by the name of Professor A. Weichselbaum finally discovered the cause of the mysterious cerebro-spinal meningitis illness in 1887. According to the Suburban Emergency Management Project, Professor Weichselbaum was able to narrow down the bacterial culprit of the disease. Neisseria meningitides, as the bacteria is referred to in early medical literature, would later become responsible for 2000 additional cases in the state of Texas, from October to February during 1911 and 1912.

Medicine gets Strategic

• Sanofi Pasteur explains that the first antibiotic that was used to fight the meningitis infection was penicillin, in the year 1944. But the real victory over meningitis actually occurred in 1978 when a new vaccination was introduced. Mass vaccinations begun during that year that caused a substantial decline in the number of meningitis outbreaks.