Genealogy Chat

I have 3 Girls in one family one aged 6 died in June 1903 one aged 3 also died in December 1903 one aged 19 died September 1934 all died of Meningitis is there such a thing as a family weakness towards this do you think ????

I believe certain types of meningitis are contageous - Did they all die at around the same time? Dea x OOhh - just saw that 2 did but there was quite a gap before the other one - I assume the two together probably shared the infection and the other one was probably just co-incidence. I don't think there is any hereditary susceptability. Dea x

Isn't some types viral so easily spread from person to person so quite easy to have a family virtually wiped out?

This was before antibiotics, so yes, it would be very possible I would imagine. Bev x

First - Hi Dea My Sister had meningitis a couple of years ago - and luckily it was not the one that was contagious otherwise we would have all had needed blood tests and Immunisations. Never the less it was a worrying time and luckily we have the medication to stop it, if it is caught in time, but at the time your talking about there wasn't, and I think hygiene had more to do with it than anything else. Debbie x

thanks for replies its sad isnt it I dont know how they coped with losing children so young.

Sorry to hijack your thread Valerie but just wanted to say Hi to Debbie - She has only just arrived on the boards! Hi Debbie + welcome. Dea x

oh hello then Deborah love Val

There is one form of meningitis - I don't know which one - which you can recover from, only for it to break out again years later. This happened a few years ago to an elderly neighbour, who had had meningitis as a child and the GP said the second meningitis bout was linked to the first. Or it may just have been a tragic coincidence. OC

I remember a neighbours little girl dying of it and they closed the Coffin and she was not allowed to see her, which I thought was strange as it isnt contagious after they have died surely??

Valerie I think they closed the coffin because meningitis does awful things to a body...nuff said. There is also the possibility that bacteria linger in the body after death, so not a situation to take a chance with. There are two types of meningitis (a third recently identified, so not relevant here), Viral (Aseptic) Meningitis and Bacterial Meningitis. Bacterial Meningitis is frequently fatal. Viral Meningitis is not necessarily fatal, unless (in those days) it is the result of measles or polio, or a person is undernourished. There is still little treatment for Viral Meningitis and it can recur at any time during a person's life. There was presumably no treatment at all back then. OC

thanks OC didnt realise that its so sad to think they would probably have survived today. Isnt it quiet without Heather really miss her already.