The telephone today is a ubiquitous or even obsolete tool of communication and information exchange. When it appeared in the nineteenth century, however, the new tool provided a radical way for individuals to talk to each other, person to person, in real time.
How contagious is meningitis? In short, most bacterial meningitis infections are mildly to moderately contagious person to person, while some viral meningitis are contagious but other types are not. Fungal, parasitic, and noninfectious causes of meningitis are not contagious from one person directly to another.
The many different viruses which can cause viral meningitis are not highly contagious between adults. In most people, the viral infection causes a cold or flu-like illness; only a small percentage of those infected actually get meningitis-about 1 in every 100 infected persons.