Useful For

Infection of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), or of the brain(encephalitis) is a rare, but potentially fatal disease where symptoms can appear suddenly and escalate quickly to brain damage, hearing and/or speech loss, blindness, or even death. Initial treatment of patients suspected of acute meningitis depends on early recognition, rapid diagnostic evaluation, and emergent antimicrobial and adjunctive therapy. Conversely, viral meningitis is more common, but typically mild and non-lethal. However, clinical diagnosis of the meningitis syndrome is difficult since their signs and symptoms are virtually indistinguishable. The FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel is designed for simultaneous detection and identification of the following bacteria, viruses and fungi: Escherichia coli K1, Haemophilus influenza, Listeria monocytogenes, Neisseria meningitides, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Enterovirus, Human parechovirus, Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), Varicella zoster virus (VZV) and Cryptooccus neoformans/gattii.