How many people each year are killed by meningitis?

Meningitis is a rare but serious infection of the membranes that line the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by a number of different bacteria and viruses. While the incidence of meningitis has declined in recent years due to the availability of vaccines, it still causes a significant number of deaths each year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 2.8 million people developed bacterial meningitis in 2015, and approximately 250,000 people died from the disease. The majority of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.

In the United States, there were an average of 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis reported each year between 2011 and 2015. Of these cases, approximately 500 people died.

Meningitis can be a very serious disease, but it is also preventable. There are vaccines available to protect against the most common types of bacterial meningitis. Vaccination is the best way to prevent this disease.