Why lie?

Once again, it is approaching 10 P.M. It's the last day of a three day weekend and the guilt of not having thought about homework all weekend is so heavy I think my skull might cave in.

Just Kidding.

I thought about lying and saying that I have been working on my research all weekend and I wanted to put it into one big "weekend research post". I thought you might believe it too, considering my blunt honesty in the past. But I decided against it, my dear readership of 1. I have decided to trust you and share with you the truth.

The truth is, as I'm sure you know, that the weekends are not a time for studying and research. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but none of them apply here so I will spare you the details. The fact is that you know all about it, because you are probably as guilty of it as I am, if not more.

So here I am, trying to remember what this project is all about. Ah, thanks to my own genius, I have the essential question posted on my blog. I will work from there.

In order to answer the essential question, " What social, economic, or environmental factors cause the sub-Saharan African "Meningitis Belt" to have large epidemincs of Meningitis which rarely occur in first-world countries," I will need to know much more information about the Meningitis Belt, and I will also need to get a sense of Meningitis in first-world nations (when in doubt, state the obvious).

Speaking of stating the obvious, the United States is a first-world country. I'll start there. In the United States, cases of meningitis are seen mostly in younger children, teens, and the elderly. People living in close contact (e.g. dorms and military bases) are at higher risk too. Meningitis spreading through a dorm or child care centers could resemble a miniature epidemic. It could be interesting to see what similarites living in a dorm and living in the Meningitis Belt have.

Access to good sanitary conditions lowers the risk of Meningitis in the United States. We also have access to several preventative vaccines. Last year, my physician recommended that I get the Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4). I declined, but that's beside the point.

In the U.S. we also have access to treatment. A physician or pediatrician can diagnose Meningitis and prescribe the best anti-biotic or combination of anti-biotics to cure the illness.

Preventative anti-biotics are sometimes prescribed to people in close contact with people who are diagnosed with the illness.

In other words, Meningitis in the States is prevented and treated when and if it shows up. It is not especially common and people who're at risk (college students, kids in daycare) are warned about the risk and it is generally recommended that they recieve the preventative vaccination.
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00118.html

The above image is from the "For Parent By Parents" website(http://www.forparentsbyparents.com/info_medic_meningitis.html), and is designed to educate parents on how to watch for Meningitis in young children.

This image from the University of Texas Health Center(http://publicaffairs.uth.tmc.edu/hleader/archive/Infectious_Disease/2005/meningitis-0822.html) tells students to get vaccinated before returning to school.

So that's Meningitis in the U.S. I will have to see if this is similar to other first-world nations. Also, tune in next time for what conditions cause Meningitis in the Meningitis Belt.