Bacterial Meningitis and Steroid Responsive Meningitis

Bacterial meningitis:
Is a rare but potentially fatal disease. It can be caused by several types of bacteria that first cause an upper respiratory tract infection and then travel through the blood stream to the brain. The disease can also occur when certain bacteria invade the meninges directly. The disease can block blood vessels in the brain, causing stroke and permanent brain damage.

Steroid Responsive Meningitis:
Is a condition that involves a dog's central nervous system primarily. The central nervous system consists of brain and spinal cord. Meningitis means inflammation of the meninges, the covering layer of the central nervous system. The condition is referred to as SRMA, or steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis because it affects the arteries in many body system tissues as well. Certain breeds of dogs seem to be more affected, but it is considered to be a condition of any breed. Young dogs 3 to 12 months of age are most commonly affected. There is no apparent sex predilection. Affected dogs experience a sudden onset of the classic signs of meningitis, including fever, cervical rigidity, spinal pain, and stilted gait. The signs may be episodic initially, resolving without treatment in mildly affected dogs with pain-free intervals lasting days to months. Most dogs, however, are severely affected and require treatment. Progression to signs of parenchymal nervous system involvement, including paralysis, blindness, and seizures, has occurred in some dogs in which therapy was not instituted. Most affected dogs have peripheral neutrophilia. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis reveals moderately increased protein and an extreme neutrophilic pleocytosis of 50 to 2000 cells/ul. No infectious agents have been isolated.