The outbreak has led to long queues for antibiotics on the University of Kent’s campus in Canterbury. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PAThe outbreak has led to long queues for antibiotics on the University of Kent’s campus in Canterbury. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PAExplainerWhat is behind the UK’s meningitis outbreak and how serious is it?Cases of MenB linked to Canterbury nightclub have risen to 20, with two deaths, as experts warn of ‘explosive’ outbreak
Meningitis infections in a county in the south-east of England continue to increase, with five new cases confirmed on Wednesday in what experts have said is one of the fastest-growing outbreaks of the disease they have seen in the UK.
What happened and where?
On 15 March, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a public health body, issued a public health alert confirming two people had died during an outbreak of meningitis.
It had occurred in and around Canterbury, a city of about 60,000 people in the county of Kent, near London.
Health officials later confirmed the strain involved was meningitis B (MenB).
How many people were affected?
As of 17 March, the UKHSA said there were 20 cases of invasive meningococcal disease. This has steadily grown from an initial assessment of 11 cases and includes the two people who have died.
Where did the outbreak originate?
Health officials believe all the initial cases are linked to a wave among people who attended Club Chemistry, a nightclub in Canterbury, on 5, 6 or 7 March. The club has since closed voluntarily.
Who died?
One of the victims has been named as 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, who was studying for her A-levels – academic qualifications for students aged 16-18 in the UK at college or school.
The headteacher of Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school in Faversham, a town 10 miles from Canterbury, said Kenny was “incredibly kind, thoughtful and intelligent and she loved our school and was very happy here”.
The other person who died, who has yet to be named, was a student at the University of Kent.
What has the response been?
The UKHSA started a full-scale response on 15 March, including preparations for distribution of antibiotics on the university campus.
Those who were at Club Chemistry on the dates identified have been urged to come forward for antibiotics.
On 17 March, the UKHSA announced a targeted vaccination programme against MenB for students living in halls of residence at the University of Kent. It says the programme could be expanded later.
Are meningitis outbreaks common in the UK?
The UKHSA chief executive, Susan Hopkins, said the number of cases in such a short space of time was “unprecedented” and called the outbreak “explosive”.
Wes Streeting, the UK government health secretary, who oversees health and social care in England, said: “What’s worried us about the Canterbury outbreak is the pace and extent of the spread of the disease.”
According to the UKHSA, there were 378 cases of invasive meningococcal disease in 2024-25, of which 80% – 313 cases – were MenB.
Is there a meningitis vaccination programme in the UK?
Since 2015, the MenB vaccine has been offered to babies at eight weeks, with a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at one year.
Other routine childhood jabs, including the 6-in-1 and pneumococcal vaccines, can protect against meningitis.
The MenACWY vaccine, which covers four other meningococcal groups, is offered to teenagers in school years 9 and 10, and can be given until the age of 25.
But teenagers born before 2015 are unvaccinated against MenB.
Despite MenB accounting for 80% of cases of invasive meningococcal disease, until now the UK Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI), a body that advises the UK government, has not deemed MenB vaccination to be cost-effective for teenagers as it does not prevent the bacteria from spreading from one person to another, it does not target all the different B bacteria strains and does not protect for a long duration.
Streeting announced he had asked the JCVI “to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines”. He said he was doing this “without prejudicing their decision”.
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