The cerebrospinal fluid that floats around the nervous system becomes a culture medium for growing and spreading of the bacteria, causing the inflammation of the meningeal lining. The inflammation may cause severe headaches. The infected person may even become comatose. Up to 30 percent of meningitis patients suffered from the septic shock of the meningococci slowly dispersing throughout the circulatory system. The bacteria release endotoxins that stimulate the production of proteins, leading to an increase in the permeability of the blood vessels, causing a fatal drop in blood pressure.
Survivors often suffer a disfiguring loss of skin and parts of limbs.
Left untreated, meningitis is usually fatal. Those infected may suffer from neurological problems of deafness, paralysis, or mental retardation.