Meningitis under the microscope

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6 • 957 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today, we put meningitis under the microscope. Robin May at the UK Health Security Agency explains this group of conditions and how his team might respond to an incident; Kat Sharrocks at Addenbrooke's Hospital details a range of symptoms associated with meningitis; and the Oxford Vaccine Group's Andrew Pollard on the protection that inoculation offers... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	All engine running.
0:03.0	Absolutely genius.
0:04.0	Welcome.
0:05.0	Welcome.
0:06.0	This is the show where we bring you science.
0:07.0	What that essentially means is...
0:09.0	Discovery is advanced.
0:10.0	Research.
0:11.0	Technology.
0:12.0	Unbelievable.
0:13.0	Without further ado, this is The Naked Scientists.
0:16.0	Hello, welcome to the Naked Scientist podcast, the program that brings you the biggest
0:20.0	breakthroughs and also talks to the major movers and podcast, the program that brings you the biggest breakthroughs
0:21.0	and also talks to the major movers and shakers in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
0:26.7	I'm Chris Smith and today, bacterial meningitis is a serious but thankfully now relatively uncommon infection,
0:49.4	which is caused most often by the meningococcus bacterium, Nicerium and Ingetidis. And believe it or not, this is
0:56.6	actually commonly carried in our noses and throats. In some instances, as many as one person in four
1:02.5	are found to be harboring it, although in the majority of those cases, it causes absolutely no
1:07.9	problems whatsoever. But in some people, infected with certain forms of the bug
1:12.7	and perhaps in response to another antecedent infection or a problem with their immune system,
1:17.5	it can become invasive, spreading through the bloodstream to involve them an ninjis,
1:22.5	the tissues surrounding the brain, and also triggering sepsis. The onset is often very abrupt, catching people completely
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dr Chris Smith, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Dr Chris Smith and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.