Q: What is meningitis, how do I recognize the signs?

A: Meningitis is a viral or bacterial infection of the membranes lining the brain.

Early treatment of bacterial meningitis is essential to a full recovery. If you are worried that a child or adult may have meningitis seek urgent medical attention.

A young baby with meningitis may refuse to feed, seem drowsy and quiet or be unusually irritable. The baby may seem floppy or jerky and may even have a fit. Sometimes the soft spot on the skull - the fontanelle - may seem tense and bulge.

A toddler with meningitis usually has a fever, vomiting and a change in mood or personality. The child may become drowsy, clingy, frightened or aggressive.

In older children symptoms to watch for include fever, severe headache; vomiting; drowsiness, dislike of light and stiff, painful neck movements. A red blotchy rash may develop that does not disappear when you press a glass against the skin.

Thanks to immunizations against Haemophilus and Meningococcal C, meningitis is now less common, but it is still important to remain alert.