Each volume in this timely series provides essential information on a disease or disorder (including symptoms, causes, treatments and cures); presents the controversies surrounding causes, alternative treatments, and other issues; and offers first-person narratives from people coping with the disease -- either as patients, family members or caregivers. Essays are carefully edited and introduced to make them easily accessible to student researchers as well as general readers. \\By focusing on the controversies surrounding diseases and disorders, this series supports debate assignments and helps develop critical thinking skills, and also helps patients and family members learn about and deal with a disease or disorder. Each volume includes numerous color photos, charts, graphs and tables as well as a glossary of key terms, a chronology of developments relating to the disease or disorder, a bibliography to assist with further research, a list of organizations to contact and an index.

Foreword - Introduction -- Understanding Meningitis -- An Overview of Meningitis / Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt -- The Causes and Symptoms of Meningitis / Christian Nordqvist -- The Success of Infant Vaccination Against Pneumococcal Meningitis / Amanda Gardner -- A Major Meningitis Epidemic in Africa / Doctors Without Borders -- Issues Concerning Meningitis -- Vaccination of College Students Against Meningitis Is Controversial / Elizabeth F. Farrell -- Support for Mandatory Vaccination Against Meningitis Is Growing / Melissa Dahl -- All Adolescents Should Be Vaccinated Against Meningitis / Melinda Beck -- Vaccination Against Meningitis Should Not Be Mandatory / Olivia Wang -- Steroids Should Be Given to Patients with Bacterial Meningitis / Zahra Ahmadinejad et al. -- Steroids May Not Benefit Children with\Bacterial Meningitis / Ed Edelson -- New Zealand's Mass Meningitis Vaccination Campaign Was Unethical / Barbara Sumner Burstyn and Ron Law -- New Zealand's Mass Meningitis\Vaccination Campaign Was a Success / New Zealand Ministry of Health -- Personal Narratives About Meningitis -- Losing a Daughter to Meningitis / Diane Werner -- Vaccination Could Have Prevented a Son's Death / Donna Knutter -- A Long Ordeal with Meningitis / Elizabeth Simpson -- Overcoming Amputations to Graduate from College / Jodi Heckel - Glossary - Chronology -- Organizations to Contact -- For Further Reading -- Index.