Meningococcal infection can be treated with many different kinds of antibiotics. If treatment is instituted promptly, fatalities and long-term complications can be reduced. The tricky part is that when meningitis strikes, it resembles a bad case of the flu. By the time the diagnosis is made because of a deteriorating condition, the patient may already be very ill and treatment may not work to push back the infection.

Patients diagnosed with meningococcal infection are always hospitalized, and most, if not all, stay in the intensive care unit. In addition to antibiotics, intravenous fluid and blood pressure medications are used to treat shock when the infection becomes wide spread in the body. Surgery to remove dead limbs is sometimes necessary because the low blood pressure and clamping down of the blood vessels associated with this infection often cut off blood supply to the extremities, causing the affected limb to turn black and die. Hospitalization for more than ten days is typical for this serious infection.