A student receives an injection from medical staff in the sports hall at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury, England, Thursday, March 19, 2026. GARETH FULLER / AP
The number of meningitis cases being probed by UK authorities has risen to 27, health officials said on Thursday, March 19, following an unprecedented deadly outbreak centered on a university. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement: "15 laboratory cases are confirmed and 12 notifications remain under investigation, bringing the total to 27." Two people have died since the epidemic came to light at the weekend, centered on the University of Kent in southeastern Canterbury and a local nightclub popular with students.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has led urgent calls for young people who visited the nightclub on the weekend of the outbreak to come forward, adding health experts were working to identify close contacts of those who were ill. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, he asked "anyone who attended Club Chemistry on March, 5, 6 or 7 to come forward, please, to receive antibiotics."
The university has rolled out a targeted vaccination program for meningitis B – a deadly bacterial strain – for some 5,000 students. Hundreds of students queued at the campus on Wednesday to get the jab.
