On 15 March, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a public health body, issued a public health alert confirming two people had died during an outbreak of meningitis. It had occurred in and around Canterbury, a city of about 60,000 people in the county of Kent, near London. Health officials later confirmed the strain involved was meningitis B (MenB). Are meningitis outbreaks common in the UK? The UKHSA chief executive, Susan Hopkins, said the number of cases in such a short space of time was “unprecedented” and called the outbreak “explosive”.

Source: The Guardian March 19, 2026 06:15 UTC