By AFP
March 18, 2026
UK health minister Wes Streeting says the 20 cases of deadly meningitis B link back to a Canterbury nightclub popular with students - Copyright AFP Ilia YEFIMOVICH
Helen Rowe
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday led urgent calls for young people who visited a nightclub at the centre of a deadly meningitis outbreak to come forward, as the number of cases rose.
Starmer told parliament the outbreak centred on Canterbury, in southeastern England, had left two dead and others were seriously ill in hospital.
Health experts were working to identify the close contacts of those who had contracted the life-threatening condition, Starmer said.
He asked “anyone who attended Club Chemistry on March, 5, 6th or 7th to come forward, please, to receive antibiotics”.
All the cases linked back to that nightclub in the university city, Health Minister Wes Streeting said earlier.
The number of cases being probed by UK authorities rose in the past 24 hours from 15 to 20.
Those who died have been identified as a 21-year-old university student and an 18-year-old school student.
The focus of public health measures so far has been the University of Kent in Canterbury, which has around 18,000 students, some of whom are among those hospitalised.
One of the cases involved a patient who had been living in Kent, but who was taken ill in London, amid fears the disease could spread as students head home for their Easter vacation.
Meningitis is a potentially deadly infection affecting the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is most common in young children, teenagers and young adults.
It can progress rapidly and is spread through prolonged close contact, including kissing or the sharing of vapes or drinks.
“As of 5 pm on 17 March, nine laboratory cases are confirmed and 11 notifications remain under investigation,” bringing the total to 20, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement, an increase of five.
Students at the university have been queueing this week for preventative antibiotics with four centres open in Canterbury.
A targeted meningitis B vaccination programme was also due to begin, authorities said, with the jab initially being offered to 5,000 University of Kent students living on campus.
The programme could be extended, the UKHSA added.
– ‘Halt the spread’ –
Initial symptoms of meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness and a stiff neck — but those signs can be vague, hampering prompt diagnosis.
Six of the confirmed cases are of group B meningococcal disease, according to the UKHSA.
The bacterial strain is rarer and deadlier than the viral type.
Family doctors nationwide have been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone attending their surgeries who visited Club Chemistry between March 5-7 and to University of Kent students “if they have been asked to seek preventative treatment”.
“This is so that anyone who has travelled home, or away from Kent, can easily access this important preventative treatment close to them,” the UKHSA said.
The agency said it was also investigating the case of a baby with confirmed meningococcal group B infection, but who was apparently not linked to the outbreak.
The baby girl is reportedly in hospital in nearby Folkestone.
Children in Britain are usually routinely vaccinated against meningitis B with three doses given at eight and 12 weeks and one year.
Another vaccination targeting meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y is offered to children aged 14.
What we know about the UK’s deadly meningitis outbreak
By AFP
March 19, 2026
People wearing medical scrubs and face masks walk across campus at the University of Kent in Canterbury which is the centre of a deadly, unprecedented outbreak of meningitis - Copyright AFP/File Jim WATSON
Akshata Kapoor
UK health authorities are probing 27 cases linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak believed to have spread at a nightclub in southeast England.
Here’s everything we know about the disease and the outbreak:
– What is meningitis? –
Meningitis is a potentially deadly infection causing the inflammation of the brain or spinal cord linings, which can lead to sepsis.
Bacterial meningitis, as seen in this outbreak, is rarer and deadlier than the viral type.
Initial symptoms of meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness and a stiff neck — but those are symptoms of different illnesses and can hamper prompt diagnosis.
Another sign can be a rash, and the disease can progress rapidly.
“It is certainly not as infective as say flu or COVID-19, and requires often fairly prolonged close contact before transmission takes place,” said Andrew Lee, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sheffield.
It can spread through close contact like kissing or the sharing of vapes or drinks.
More than two million people get meningitis worldwide each year, according to a tracker by the Meningitis Research Foundation — 80 percent of them in developing countries.
Outbreaks among university students have been particularly common in the West.
– Where does the infection come from? –
Meningococcal disease is a rare but serious illness caused by the meningococcal bacteria, which can result in meningitis.
It is usually spread by the people who carry the bacteria in the back of their throat or nose but don’t develop any symptoms.
“Between 10-24 per cent of the population unknowingly carry this germ at the back of their throats usually without any harm,” said Lee.
There are multiple strains of the bacteria. In this outbreak, at least nine of the confirmed cases are of group B meningococcal disease (MenB) — the most common in the UK.
The epicentre of this outbreak is believed to be Club Chemistry in Canterbury, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. At least 10 of the confirmed cases went to the nightclub between March 5-7.
– How big is the outbreak? –
It has been described as “unprecedented” by Streeting.
At least 27 cases were being probed as of Thursday, with 15 confirmed. That figure has risen rapidly in the last week, with the first case reported on Friday, March 13.
There have also been two deaths.
“The risk of transmission and further cases is usually highest in the first week after contact with a case and the probability rapidly decreases afterwards,” Lee said.
Many of those affected are University of Kent students. There have also been cases in four Kent schools and a London higher education institute.
The local authority was unable to confirm whether the outbreak had been contained as of Thursday.
– Why is it unprecedented? –
Health experts point to the unusual speed and spread of the outbreak in a short timeframe.
In the UK, meningitis tends to occur in small clusters.
“In my 35 years working in medicine, in healthcare and hospitals, this is the most cases I’ve seen in a single weekend with this type of infection,” UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) head Susan Hopkins said.
“This looks like a superspreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities,” Hopkins added.
The UKHSA was alerted to the first case on March 13, and began tracing contacts. France informed UK authorities on March 14 of a case of a person who had been at the university and was hospitalised in France.
Samples collected from patients are being analysed in the laboratory, which could give a better picture about the strain and why the infection has been more invasive.
– What has the official response been? –
Health authorities are racing to identify close contacts of those who were ill, and have set up multiple health clinics in Canterbury distributing antibiotics.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged anyone at the nightclub on the weekend of the outbreak to seek antibiotics to help halt the spread of the disease.
For the general UK public, “the overall risk remains very low,” said Zina Alfahl from the University of Galway’s School of Medicine.
Bacterial meningitis usually needs to be treated in the hospital.
It can be prevented through vaccines. The University of Kent has rolled out a targeted vaccination programme to provide 5,000 jabs to students on campus.
While vaccines against some meningitis strains are administered routinely to children in the UK, the shot against MenB has only been part of the immunisation schedule since 2015 — when the UK became the first country in the world to add the jab to its programme.
As people rush to buy vaccines in response to the outbreak, health minister Streeting said it was “not necessary”.
burs-aks/jkb/pdw
By AFP
March 19, 2026
People wearing medical scrubs and face masks walk across campus at the University of Kent in Canterbury which is the centre of a deadly, unprecedented outbreak of meningitis - Copyright AFP/File Jim WATSON
Akshata Kapoor
UK health authorities are probing 27 cases linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak believed to have spread at a nightclub in southeast England.
Here’s everything we know about the disease and the outbreak:
– What is meningitis? –
Meningitis is a potentially deadly infection causing the inflammation of the brain or spinal cord linings, which can lead to sepsis.
Bacterial meningitis, as seen in this outbreak, is rarer and deadlier than the viral type.
Initial symptoms of meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness and a stiff neck — but those are symptoms of different illnesses and can hamper prompt diagnosis.
Another sign can be a rash, and the disease can progress rapidly.
“It is certainly not as infective as say flu or COVID-19, and requires often fairly prolonged close contact before transmission takes place,” said Andrew Lee, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sheffield.
It can spread through close contact like kissing or the sharing of vapes or drinks.
More than two million people get meningitis worldwide each year, according to a tracker by the Meningitis Research Foundation — 80 percent of them in developing countries.
Outbreaks among university students have been particularly common in the West.
– Where does the infection come from? –
Meningococcal disease is a rare but serious illness caused by the meningococcal bacteria, which can result in meningitis.
It is usually spread by the people who carry the bacteria in the back of their throat or nose but don’t develop any symptoms.
“Between 10-24 per cent of the population unknowingly carry this germ at the back of their throats usually without any harm,” said Lee.
There are multiple strains of the bacteria. In this outbreak, at least nine of the confirmed cases are of group B meningococcal disease (MenB) — the most common in the UK.
The epicentre of this outbreak is believed to be Club Chemistry in Canterbury, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. At least 10 of the confirmed cases went to the nightclub between March 5-7.
– How big is the outbreak? –
It has been described as “unprecedented” by Streeting.
At least 27 cases were being probed as of Thursday, with 15 confirmed. That figure has risen rapidly in the last week, with the first case reported on Friday, March 13.
There have also been two deaths.
“The risk of transmission and further cases is usually highest in the first week after contact with a case and the probability rapidly decreases afterwards,” Lee said.
Many of those affected are University of Kent students. There have also been cases in four Kent schools and a London higher education institute.
The local authority was unable to confirm whether the outbreak had been contained as of Thursday.
– Why is it unprecedented? –
Health experts point to the unusual speed and spread of the outbreak in a short timeframe.
In the UK, meningitis tends to occur in small clusters.
“In my 35 years working in medicine, in healthcare and hospitals, this is the most cases I’ve seen in a single weekend with this type of infection,” UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) head Susan Hopkins said.
“This looks like a superspreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities,” Hopkins added.
The UKHSA was alerted to the first case on March 13, and began tracing contacts. France informed UK authorities on March 14 of a case of a person who had been at the university and was hospitalised in France.
Samples collected from patients are being analysed in the laboratory, which could give a better picture about the strain and why the infection has been more invasive.
– What has the official response been? –
Health authorities are racing to identify close contacts of those who were ill, and have set up multiple health clinics in Canterbury distributing antibiotics.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged anyone at the nightclub on the weekend of the outbreak to seek antibiotics to help halt the spread of the disease.
For the general UK public, “the overall risk remains very low,” said Zina Alfahl from the University of Galway’s School of Medicine.
Bacterial meningitis usually needs to be treated in the hospital.
It can be prevented through vaccines. The University of Kent has rolled out a targeted vaccination programme to provide 5,000 jabs to students on campus.
While vaccines against some meningitis strains are administered routinely to children in the UK, the shot against MenB has only been part of the immunisation schedule since 2015 — when the UK became the first country in the world to add the jab to its programme.
As people rush to buy vaccines in response to the outbreak, health minister Streeting said it was “not necessary”.
burs-aks/jkb/pdw
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