This week, Southern England was rocked by what health officials called an “explosive” wave of meningococcal meningitis infections that resulted in 11 “probable” and 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, according to the latest count from the UK Health Security Agency.
The agency first alerted the public on March 15 about the outbreak of this serious bacterial infection, later confirming the strain was meningitis B (MenB).
The outbreak has since been tied to attendees of a nightclub, Club Chemistry, in the town of Canterbury, in Kent. The disease likely spread there on the nights of March 5, 6 and 7, officials said.
According to the Guardian, one of the victims who died has been named as 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, a student at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school, about 10 miles from Canterbury. The other person who succumbed to the infection hasn’t yet been named, but has been confirmed as a student at the University of Kent.
Health officials in the UK are preparing for multiple different scenarios, including the “worst case,” which would involve another outbreak somewhere outside of Kent.
Dr. Anjan Ghosh, director of public health at Kent County Council, said this is “highly unlikely,” though he acknowledged that there could be infected people who left Kent in the weeks following the initial spread, potentially infecting others.
This raises alarm in the US, where dangerous strains of meningitis have been sharply on the rise since 2021, according to the American Medical Association. While officials note that this outbreak is currently contained to the UK, here’s what you need to know about meningococcal meningitis here in the States.
What is meningococcal meningitis?
Meningococcal meningitis is a form of bacterial meningitis, which is rarer but significantly more serious than viral meningitis — and can, in some cases, be fatal.
Bacterial meningitis is an infection of both the fluid coating the brain and spinal cord, and the membrane that holds that fluid in place, or the meninges.
Meningococcal disease and meningococcal meningitis are different, as meningococcal disease “can affect multiple systems, whereas meningitis refers specifically to inflammation of the meninges,” according to Medical News Today.
Meningococcal meningitis is one of the most common forms of meningococcal infection. The other is a bloodstream infection, which has different symptoms but is also very serious.
What are the symptoms of meningococcal meningitis?
Typically, the inflammation from the bacterial infection causes fevers, irritability, problems sleeping or concentrating, light sensitivity, a stiff neck and headaches in adults and teens.
Symptoms can look very different for babies, who might present with agitation, refusal to feed or overall floppiness.
“Bacterial meningitis signs and symptoms can be deceiving,” Sutter Health infectious diseases physician and medical director of infection control Jeffrey Silvers, MD, told the American Medical Association. But “it is a medical emergency” and should be treated by a doctor right away.
“In severe cases, the person can have seizures, become unresponsive or even die,” he said. “In some cases, the infection can progress extremely quickly, and the person can die within a few hours.”
How contagious is it and how does meningococcal meningitis spread?
Dr. Maeve Middleton of Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency assured listeners on Thursday that bacterial meningitis “doesn’t have pandemic potential.”
“It’s a serious infection, but it’s pretty uncommon and it’s much less infectious than some other common infections that we see,” she said.
Scientists believe the bacteria that causes this form of meningitis can’t live outside the body, so it’s not transferred from surfaces, according to Mayo Clinic.
Instead, it’s often spread through close contact: sharing drinks or utensils, kissing, coughing or sneezing.
Babies, children and elderly people are more at risk of developing bacterial meningitis, as are people with weakened immune systems.
How is meningococcal meningitis prevented and treated?
Medical professionals agree that vaccines offer the best protection against bacterial meningitis.
Alicia Stillman, co-executive director of the American Society for Meningitis Prevention, spoke to Newsweek about existing meningitis vaccines for all five common strains — A, B, C, W and Y — that can curb the spread of the disease.
“There are vaccines available to protect against all five preventable serogroups, and a parent needs to be able to educate themselves, so that when they go into the healthcare provider’s office, they know specifically what to ask for to make sure their child is protected,” she said.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now only recommends the vaccine for “high-risk groups or populations,” though a vaccine against meningitis A, C, Y and W was “previously recommended for all adolescents.”
A separate vaccine for meningitis B is also recommended for certain high-risk groups or populations, according to Newsweek.
Chickenpox, flu, measles and mumps vaccines can help protect against viral meningitis, according to Medical News Today.
If a bacterial infection is suspected, it’s important to act fast.
Intravenous antibiotics are the first line of defense and are sometimes mixed with corticosteroids, to prevent complications like brain swelling and seizures, according to Mayo Clinic.
Should Americans be concerned about the spread of meningococcal meningitis?
Ghosh, the health administrator in Kent, told news outlets in the UK that his team was trying to determine if this strain of the disease is more transmissible than past strains. So far, they aren’t sure why there have been so many cases identified so quickly.
While it’s very common to have “small, sporadic outbreaks of meningitis from time to time,” especially among university students and younger age groups, the speed of this outbreak has been “quite unprecedented.”
“This is highly unusual, and that is going to be looked at, but right now our priority is to take care of our residents and keep them safe and make sure there are no other deaths.”
A CDC spokesperson told Newsweek Thursday: “If someone who is exposed to these bacteria travels to the United States, there’s the possibility of the outbreak strain of the bacteria spreading. However, meningococcal bacteria don’t spread easily. Transmission requires exchange of respiratory or throat secretions (saliva) during close or lengthy contact, especially if living in the same household.”
But the Trump administration’s “relaxed recommendations” around vaccines have caused concern about a possible outbreak on American soil.
“All it takes is one case to explode here. And yes, we could see an outbreak on any college campus in our country,” Stillman, whose 19-year-old daughter died of meningitis in 2013, said.
