3. Meningitis
Some meningitis is caused by bacteria while other cases come about because of viruses (including the herpes virus), Chris Carpenter, M.D., section head of Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, tells SELF. Close contact with a person who has viral meningitis can result in you getting the virus, but it’s unlikely to actually turn into meningitis, according to the CDC.
Bacterial meningitis is usually the kind associated with outbreaks because the bacteria can be spread through close contact, including kissing, but unlike with the viral variety, the bacteria is more likely to cause meningitis in the host, says Carpenter. Symptoms include a stiff neck, fever, and headache, according to the CDC. “If we are aware of an outbreak, we will give people who have had close contact with the [infected person] antibiotics to protect them,” says Carpenter.
