Recently in Texas there has been several scares related to outbreaks of meningitis. First of all, meningitis is not the same condition as encephalitis, although they both occur in the brain. Meningitis is the inflammation of the tissue lining of the brain and spinal cord, the meninges. Encephalitis is the inflammation of the brain itself. There are two broad categories of meningitis, viral and bacterial.
Bacterial meningitis is more uncommon, but it can be extremely serious.
Often times it is fatal, especially if not treated immediately. Those who survive this type of meningitis often have a severe disability as a result. Brain injury and deafness are two common results of this type of meningitis. Because of this vaccination program, this type of meningitis has practically disappeared in this country. The other two types of meningitis are meningococcal and pneumococcal.