Patients are generally started on antibiotics until it is clear that bacteria are not present. This confirmation may take several days. Occasionally a repeat spinal tap is necessary to determine if any changes have occurred. There is nothing you can do to prevent viral meningitis. As with all illnesses, the interaction between the virulence of the organism causing the disease with the defense mechanisms of the body, determines how ill one is.
Several vaccines are available, however, to prevent certain forms of bacterial meningitis.
For example, all children now receive immunization against the Hemophilus bacteria, which used to be the most common cause of meningitis prior to the 1990's. There is also an effective vaccine for meningococcal meningitis, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis on college campuses. For more information about the vaccine, see below . The program was provocative and dramatic in the description of the possible course of the disease ending with the sad and gruesome death of two students highlighted in the program. The following information should put this disease in perspective and take fear out of the conversation.