The most common symptoms of bacterial meningitis include:

• Fever
• Neck stiffness
• Headache

Other symptoms of bacterial meningitis include:

• Moderate to severe headache
• Nausea
• Neck pain
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Muscle aches
• Shaking chills
• Fatigue
• Sweating
• Vomiting

Symptoms of severe bacterial meningitis include:

• Severe headache
• Severe neck pain
• Confusion
• Lethargy:
• Excessive sleepiness
• Rash (generalized):
• Rash that looks like broken blood vessels
• Seizure

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis in infants include:

• Poor feeding in infants
• Fever
• Fussy infant
• Inconsolable infant:
• Continuous crying despite being comforted
• Irritable infant