A specific protein on the surface of a common bacterial pathogen allows the bacteria to leave the bloodstream and enter the brain, initiating the deadly infection known as meningitis. The new finding, which may guide development of improved vaccines to protect those most vulnerable, including young infants and the elderly, is now available online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a bacterial pathogen that causes sepsis and meningitis in newborn infants, is able to shut down immune cell function in order to promote its own survival, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Doctors may get a new arsenal for meningitis treatment and the war on drug-resistant bacteria and fungal infections with novel peptide nanoparticles developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Singapore and reported in Nature Nanotechnology.

One fifth of the standard dose of a commonly used meningitis vaccine may be as effective as using the full dose. This new finding should allow scarce vaccine resources to be stretched further, especially during epidemics in Africa.

Use of corticosteroids in addition to other treatment for children with bacterial meningitis is not associated with a decreased risk of death or shorter hospital stay, according to a study in the May 7 issue of JAMA.

A University of Leicester researcher has discovered how a protein in the blood – linked to defence against meningitis - plays a more vital role than previously understood in the body’s immune defence system.

Researchers working in Vietnam have identified a genetic variant that predisposes people to developing a lethal form of tuberculosis (TB), tuberculous meningitis, if they are infected with a strain of TB known as the Beijing strain.

USF Mourns Loss of Student in Suspected Case of Bacterial Meningitis.

A national survey of state immunization program managers reveals gaps in coverage for the current vaccine financing system, suggesting that many underinsured children may not receive recommended vaccinations, such as for pneumonia and meningitis, according to a report in the August 8 issue of JAMA.

A new study from Bangladesh published online in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal shows that routinely vaccinating infants against H. influenzae type b (Hib), a bacterium that causes deadly Hib pneumonia and meningitis, could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia.

Meningitis epidemics caused by the pathogen Nesseiria meningitis (or meningococcus) provoke high mortality in children and young people under 20 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. They rage during periods of drought from January to April, in the area known as the "Meningitis Belt".