The Facts and Figures About Brain Injuries and Bacterial Meningitis

How many people are affected by brain injuries?Luke
On an annual basis in the United States:
• 1.5 million people will sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
• 50,000 people will die annually as a result of TBI.*
• 80,000 people annually experience the onset of long-term disabilities following TBI.*
• There are currently 5.3 million Americans living with a disability as a result of a TBI.*

How does the number of brain injuries compare to other common diseases?
The mortality and permanent damage rates of brain injuries in the United States are higher than the combined incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Brain injuries also occur more frequently than breast cancer or AIDS.*

What is the correlation between brain injuries and children?
According to the Brain Injury Association of America, traumatic brain injury is the most frequent cause of disability and death among children and adolescents in the United States. Each year, more than a million children sustain brain injuries, ranging from mild to severe trauma.*

What is Bacterial Meningitis?
Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the central nervous system, known collectively as the meninges. The central nervous system refers to the brain and the spinal cord. Depending on the type of bacteria responsible for the infection, bacterial meningitis is either classified as monococcal or pneumococcal.

How prevalent is bacterial meningitis in the United States?
In the United States, there are approximately 6,000 cases of bacterial meningitis each year, 3,000 of which are among pediatric patients.**

What are the consequences of bacterial meningitis?
Bacterial meningitis is an extremely dangerous infection. 10-15% of meningitis cases are fatal within 24 to 48 hours. However, of the 85-90% of those individuals that do recover from the disease, 11-19% have permanent hearing loss, mental retardation, loss of limbs, or other serious complications.***

Click here to learn even more about meningitis
*Centers for Disease Control. “Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: A Report to Congress.”
** http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic198.htm
*** http://infectiousdiseases.about.com/od/vaccine/a/meningitis.htm