Here are the meningitis symptoms to look out for following reports that two students have died during an outbreak in the UK.
The outbreak is centered in Canterbury, Kent. Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham confirmed that a sixth-form student died on Saturday (March 14).
The University of Kent then confirmed on Sunday (March 15) that one of its students has died, after 11 people were reported to have become seriously unwell.
At this stage, the exact strain responsible has not been confirmed.
Meningitis becomes particularly dangerous when caused by bacteria. In bacterial meningitis, bacteria can enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain and spinal cord, or infect the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord (the meninges) directly. This form can be life-threatening and requires urgent treatment.
Anyone can develop meningitis, but it is seen more often in babies, children, teenagers and young adults. It can also spread more easily in settings where people live, study, or socialize closely together, such as colleges and universities.
The Mayo Clinic notes that in the United States, meningitis is most often triggered by viral infections, with bacterial infections next most common. Fungal, parasitic, and other non-infectious causes are much less common.
Bacterial meningitis may be caused by several organisms, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae (Hib), and Listeria monocytogenes. Many of these infections can be reduced through vaccination.
Early symptoms can be easy to mistake for flu, according to the Mayo Clinic, and may develop over a few hours or over a couple of days.
For people aged two and over, symptoms can include a high fever, a severe headache, a stiff neck, sensitivity to light, nausea or vomiting, confusion or difficulty concentrating, sleepiness or trouble waking, and—in more serious cases—seizures.
Meningitis can cause severe complications, particularly when treatment is not started quickly.
The longer an infection goes untreated, the higher the risk of seizures and lasting injury to the nervous system.
Potential long-term effects include hearing loss, vision problems, difficulties with memory, and learning challenges.
In the most serious cases, it can also lead to brain damage, problems walking, kidney failure, shock, and death.
US college campuses have faced meningococcal outbreaks in the past, including cases linked to ‘serogroup B meningococcal disease’ between 2013 and 2016.
The National Meningitis Association has highlighted that in 2013, UC Santa Barbara reported four cases. Everyone survived, but one student required amputations of both feet.
Additional cases were recorded there again in 2016.
Princeton University also documented nine cases from 2013 to 2014. During that period, one Drexel student died, and some people who survived experienced lasting neurological problems.
The University of Oregon later recorded seven cases and one death in 2017. In 2015, Providence College identified two cases; both students survived following swift vaccination measures.
In response to these incidents, universities organized emergency vaccination clinics in an effort to halt transmission.
The 2015 outbreaks came soon after the FDA approved two vaccines targeting serogroup B. Earlier outbreaks, however, required special authorization from the FDA and CDC before the vaccine could be used.