HSE monitoring meningitis outbreak in England with help of UK health authorities

A student receiving an injection in the sports hall at the University of Kent campus in England as the number of cases of meningitis being investigated by the UK Health Security Agency in Kent has risen to 27. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA

The HSE has said it is in regular contact with UK health authorities following an outbreak of meningitis in southern England.

It said its national public health team has been communicating with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which says the situation is evolving and further cases are possible.

There have now been 27 cases of meningitis linked to the outbreak in Kent, and two young people have died.

It comes as health services across Europe were urged to be on the lookout for anybody presenting with symptoms of the invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), which can lead to meningitis.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has deemed the risk to the general EU population as “very low due to the very small probability of exposure and infection”.

But because two of those affected in Kent have since died, the ECDC says control measures need to be initiated immediately if any case linked to the English outbreak is detected in the EU.

The UK outbreak includes 27 cases, two of whom died after contracting IMD, which is a major cause of meningitis and septicaemia. Investigations in the UK have identified attendance at a nightclub in Canterbury between March 5 and 7 as a possible exposure site.

In addition, France has reported one case of IMD in a person possibly linked to the same outbreak.

Outbreaks of meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis typically occur in small clusters around cases or in places where many people gather. Although some secondary cases can occur among close contacts of cases, the disease does not spread in the community like a respiratory virus.

The ECDC said it assesses the risk of IMD to the general population in Europe as very low. “There is a negligible probability of exposure and of infection in the general population.

“For individuals who were exposed to this event in Kent but who have previously been vaccinated with the MenB, the likelihood of infection is low as they are protected by the vaccine; among unvaccinated and exposed individuals, the risk of infection is moderate.

“However, if more than 10 days have passed from the date of exposure, the risk of developing the disease becomes very low, as the incubation period of the disease is up to 10 days.

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“Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of meningitis in returning travellers and include travel history in their assessment of IMD cases, particularly regarding travelling to the Kent region.

“Healthcare workers in EU countries managing suspected or confirmed cases should follow required infection prevention and control protocols, while countries are encouraged to continue surveillance, including molecular surveillance and antibiotic susceptibility testing, to support outbreak control.”