World Meningitis Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Meningitis

World Meningitis Day was celebrated on April 24 annually until 2022, when it was moved to October 5 to accommodate the greatest number of participants. This day is observed globally to raise awareness about meningitis, a disease in which the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord become inflamed (swell). It is essential to determine the cause of meningitis because treatment varies depending on the cause.

The background of World Meningitis Day

Meningitis was mentioned in ancient literature. Hippocrates addressed meningitis in his writings. Sir Robert Whytt, a physician from Edinburgh, first diagnosed tuberculous meningitis in a 1768 posthumous report. However, it required an additional century to establish the connection between tuberculosis and Tubercle bacilli. Meningitis has been a part of human existence for a period of time that is difficult to determine with precision due to the relative youth of the medical capacity to diagnose the condition.

Hippocrates, a renowned Greek scholar (circa 460–370 B.C. ), was the first to recognize meningitis when he observed inflammation of the brain’s lining. In 1661, Thomas Willis (1621-1675) reported cases of “inflammation of the meninges with a constant fever”; this is one of the earliest accounts of meningitis that we can locate. French and English physicians coined the term’meningitis’ in the early 1800s by combining the word’meninges’ (the name of the brain’s lining) with the suffix ‘itis,’ denoting inflammation.

The Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMO) has utilized World Meningitis Day annually since 2008 to raise awareness of meningitis as a global public health concern. The campaign has always been conducted on April 24; however, to increase participation, it has been moved to October 5 in an effort to have it recognized as an official health day. If we can make World Meningitis Day an official health day, we will be able to reach more people with meningitis-related information that could save their lives.

Because the campaign was held in April and was always sandwiched between two other significant health programs, it was impossible for additional partners to participate meaningfully. By shifting the date to October 5, it is believed that more people will be able to rally around the same message and join the fight to eradicate meningitis by 2030.

As part of the WHO’s Roadmap to Eliminate Meningitis by 2030, World Meningitis Day will receive a greater global profile. The campaign is an integral part of the “Advocacy and Engagement” theme, which seeks to increase public and political awareness of meningitis and its consequences. CoMO is currently in communication with the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the approval of World Meningitis Day as an official health day.

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5 INTERESTING FACTS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MENINGITIS

Different forms of meningitis place some people at increased risk.

Different vaccines have been prescribed for various age groups, as the original vaccine, which was designed to help the body combat meningitis, does not cure all strains of the disease.

Meningitis can cause severe and long-lasting injury in addition to its well-known symptoms.

In an analysis of 493 cases of bacterial meningitis in adults, the overall case fatality rate was 25%.

Meningococcal meningitis is transmitted by airborne droplets and direct contact with an infected person.

WORLD MENINGITIS DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	October 5	Thursday
2024	October 5	Saturday
2025	October 5	Sunday
2026	October 5	Monday
2027	October 5	Tuesday