FOLLOWING a recent outbreak of meningococcal disease in South East England, UK, with two deaths confirmed last week and 20 reported cases thus far, national guidance on the management of suspected meningitis remains unchanged.
Here is everything you need to know to recognise, prevent, and reduce transmission of invasive meningitis.
What is MenB?
WHO has identified meningitis as a major global public health challenge, with it often resulting in serious long-term injury or mortality.
It can be caused by several organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Injuries, cancers, and drugs cause a small proportion of cases.
Bacterial meningitis is of particular concern: around one in six people who contract it die and one in five experience severe complications. The bacteria responsible for more than half of the global meningitis death toll can cause other severe diseases, including septicaemia and pneumonia.
MenB, a type of bacterial meningitis, has been identified as the strain linked to cases in the recent Canterbury area outbreak.
What are the Symptoms?
Meningitis is often characterised by inflammation of the lining of the brain and tissues surrounding the spinal cord. Symptoms can differ based on the cause, age, how quickly the disease progresses, duration, brain involvement, and presence of severe complications.
WHO identified common symptoms as:
- Fever
- Neck stiffness
- Confusion or altered mental status
- Headache
- Sensitivity to light
- Nausea and vomiting
Less frequent symptoms are:
- Seizures
- Coma
- Neurological deficits, such as weakness of the limbs
Infants tend to exhibit different symptoms compared to adults, WHO reported:
- Unusual behaviour, such as the child being less active and difficult to wake
- Irritability
- Weak, continuous cry
- Poor feeding
- Bulging of the soft spot in their head
Some bacterial pathogens may account for other symptoms due to bloodstream infection, including cold hands and feet, fast breathing, and low blood pressure. A characteristic, non-blanching skin rash may appear with meningococcal sepsis.
How Can I Protect Myself and Reduce Transmission?
Vaccination is the most effective way to deliver long-lasting protection, WHO has reported. Meningitis vaccines are designed to protect against the most harmful strains – no universal vaccine exists.
Vaccination can prevent meningitis caused by meningococcus, pneumococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). Hib vaccine is used in most national childhood immunisation programmes worldwide.
Meningococcal vaccines include multivalent polysaccharide conjugate vaccines (MMCV) (which include four to five meningococcal serogroups), protein-based vaccines (which include meningococcal serogroup B), and combination vaccines combining the latter with 4-valent MMCV.
Post-exposure antibiotics are often given to close contacts of people with meningitis, to clear asymptomatic meningococcal carriage from the nose and reduce transmission risk.
References
NHS England. Outbreak of meningococcal disease linked to University of Kent and the area of Canterbury. 2026. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/outbreak-of-meningococcal-disease-linked-to-university-of-kent-and-the-area-of-canterbury/. Last accessed: 19 March 2026.
World Health Organization. Meningitis. 2025. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/meningitis. Last accessed: 19 March 2026.
UK Health Security Agency. Meningitis B outbreak: what you need to know. 2026. Available at: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/18/meningitis-b-outbreak-what-you-need-to-know/. Last accessed: 19 March 2026.
Featured image: Giovanni Cancemi on Adobe Stock
