U.K.’s deadly meningitis outbreak shows importance of vaccination

Health officials in the United Kingdom are racing to contain a deadly outbreak of a form of bacterial meningitis called meningococcal meningitis, launching a massive antibiotic and vaccination campaign for the thousands of people affected, many of whom are students.

The contagious infection was first detected in young people at the University of Kent in England. Since then, the disease has quickly spread to other students and residents in the area: as of March 19, thousands of people had been contacted by health authorities due to their potential exposure to the disease, at least 29 people had confirmed or suspected infection, and two had died, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Treating exposed people with antibiotics before symptoms appear can help eliminate outbreaks of bacterial meningitis quickly. But experts say routine meningitis vaccination for high-risk groups, including young adults who gather in places such as college campuses, is key to preventing such dangerous transmission.

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“This outbreak is a very unusual event,” says William Schaffner, an infectious disease physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. For context, the UK recorded 378 confirmed cases of meningococcal meningitis infection between July 2024 and June 2025; the United States reported 503 confirmed and probable cases in 2024. “It is very impressive that our comprehensive vaccination programs in the United States and the United Kingdom have very substantially reduced the occurrence of this very scary disease in our populations,” he said.

However, vaccines designed to combat this form of bacterial meningitis have recently been called into question in the United States by the Trump administration. In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed a recommendation that all children receive a meningococcal meningitis vaccine as part of their routine childhood vaccinations. A recent U.S. district court ruling, however, temporarily blocked that move. The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, did not immediately respond to Scientific American‘questions regarding the current status of meningitis vaccine recommendations.

Scientific American spoke with infectious disease experts about the dangers of bacterial meningitis and how vaccination can help protect against illness and outbreaks.

What is bacterial meningitis?

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes called the meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord. It can be caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses and autoimmune diseases, says Nicholas Van Sickels, medical director of the infection prevention and control program at University of Kentucky HealthCare.

“In an outbreak, though, we’re usually talking about bacterial meningitis,” he says. “You often hear about it in situations like what’s happening in England, where there’s a university campus and often very healthy individuals present themselves as very, very ill in a short period of time – and some die.”

Bacterial meningitis is usually caused by meningococcal disease, an infection with the bacteria Neisseria meningitidiswhich can be transmitted by aerosolized droplets and close personal contact. It is very contagious in enclosed places such as university dormitories, military dormitories or detention centers. Early symptoms may include fever, headache, rapid breathing and chills. Infected people may also develop a red or purple rash that does not go away under pressure. The disease can progress very quickly, spreading through the spinal fluid and into the brain. “The patient may become drowsy, even delirious, and then slip into a coma,” says Schaffner.

The bacteria can also enter the bloodstream, inflaming blood vessels, which can cause lasting damage even in people who recover from the initial infection.

“Even if the infection is well treated, the inflammation is such that it can lead to long-term disability,” says Schaffner. “Some people have hearing difficulties. Sometimes you get gangrene and amputations become necessary.”

How is bacterial meningitis treated or prevented?

Antibiotics can treat bacterial meningitis and are most effective when taken very early in an infection, Schaffner says. Currently, British health authorities are distributing thousands of doses of antibiotics – a first-line intervention measure – to students who have been exposed or are at high risk of contracting the disease. “This should put an end to this epidemic,” Schaffner says. But vaccines are key to reducing the risk of such outbreaks in the future, he adds.

Two different types of meningococcal vaccines are available in the UK and US: MenACWY and MenB. The letters represent various strains of N. meningitidis each vaccine covers. Strains A, C, W and Y are generally more common than strain B.

In the UK, MenACWY vaccines are recommended for adolescents aged around 14 years. Health authorities also recommend a first dose of the MenB vaccine for infants at eight weeks of age, a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at one year of age. The outbreak in Kent was due to the rarer B strain. Therefore, in addition to distributing antibiotics, British health authorities have launched a targeted MenB vaccination campaign among students in the Kent area to help prevent future spread.

In the United States, cases of meningococcal disease have been trending upward since 2021, with a particular increase in Y strain cases, according to the CDC. Currently, the agency recommends that immunocompromised children ages 16 and older receive a shot of the MenB vaccine and that other children in this age group only receive it based on a shared clinical decision.

Given the infrequent presence of B strains, the vaccine is optional but available to those who decide with a clinician that their child should receive it, Schaffner says. “More and more parents are getting their children vaccinated against meningitis B, especially before they go to college, because they don’t want to be in a situation where transmission of this virus is easy.”

The CDC previously recommended that all children receive two doses of the MenACWY vaccine: the first dose between ages 11 and 12 and a booster at age 16. But in January, the agency decided to change its recommendation to make the MenACWY vaccine optional under shared clinical decision-making for most children. The future of this change is unclear as the legal challenge continues.

Both the MenB and MenACWY vaccines are very safe and effective at preventing disease, says Van Sickels, with the highest levels of protection seen around five years after MenACWY vaccination and around one to two years after MenB vaccination. That’s why the timing of initial vaccination and subsequent boosters is important to hit “the sweet spot,” so that immunity is highest when children are at higher risk, Van Sickels says. Some US universities require students to receive both vaccines if they live in dormitories. Meningococcal MenACWY vaccine requirements exist for the U.S. military.

“Our national vaccination campaign with the [four-strain MenACWY vaccine] has been a brilliant success,” says Schaffner. “It’s another example of how routine and comprehensive vaccination has had a profound effect in truly dramatically reducing the occurrence of what was once an extreme, usually feared infection.”