Meningitis: UKHSA issue warning urging students to protect themselves against deadly infection

• UKHSA issue warning to students to protect themselves from meningitis.
• They are urging both freshers and returning students to check to make sure they have been vaccinated against meningitis before the start of the new academic term.
• Those not up to date with their vaccinations are at an increased risk of serious diseases such as meningitis, septicaemia and measles.
• It is possible to catch up on missed MMR jabs, whatever your age.

The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) have issued a warning to new and returning students to protect themselves from meningitis before the start of the academic term.

Students are being asked to make sure they are up to date on their free NHS vaccinations for meningitis, measles and HPV. With universities and higher education spaces potentially being hot spots for COVID-19, flu, measles, mumps and meningococcal disease as they present the perfect opportunity for infection to spread. Meningitis and septicaemia can both be fatal or cause life-changing disabilities. It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults, with symptoms turning serious if not treated quickly.

Young children are offered 2 doses of the MMR vaccine, which is the safest and most effective way to protect yourself against measles, mumps and rubella. But not everyone will have received these jabs.

Vaccine coverage data from the UKHSA has revealed that one in eight new students going to college or university this year remain unprotected from the four strains of meningococcal bacteria, each of which can cause long term disability, serious health complications and can be life threatening. The latest MenACWY coverage date from 2021 to 2022 has highlighted that the vaccination rate has fallen to 79.6%, meaning that in a few years’ time the figure could rise to one in five students being unprotected when they start university or college.

Dr Shamez Ladhani, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “We usually see increases in cases of meningococcal meningitis after the university term starts in September. New and returning students from around the country and overseas coming together and mixing means infection spreads easily, with some students becoming seriously ill and tragically in some cases, we see deaths.”

Adding: “I urge young people starting or returning to university to check they’re up to date on their MenACWY, HPV and MMR jabs and to contact their GP if unsure.”

How do I know if I've had the meningitis vaccine?

It’s important to check you have had both doses of the MMR vaccine. Known as the MenACWY, it is given in schools in England to students in year nine or 10, offering protection against all four different strains of meningococcal bacteria that can cause meningitis and septicaemia.

If you suspect you may have missed this vaccine you can check your vaccination status by contacting your GP. If you have missed receiving the jab, the vaccine is still available to anyone up until their 25th birthday.

Meningitis Now Chief Executive, Dr Tom Nutt, said: “We know vaccination is the best way to protect against the devastation that meningitis can cause. Over many years the NHS’s vaccination programme has resulted in a steady drop in the number of cases of the disease, with countless lives saved as a result.”

He continued: “But more needs to be done. We estimate that up to half a million young people currently aged between 18 to 24 years old may have missed their MenACWY vaccine at school. In addition, we are growing increasingly concerned about the recent rise in meningitis cases across the UK. While the number of cases is still below those recorded pre-pandemic, any increase in the disease is worrying.”

You can find out more about how to access the meningitis vaccine on NHS.UK.