An unprecedented surge in meningitis B cases in the UK has resulted in the deaths of two young people and a wave of hospitalisations. Will a similar health crisis emerge in Belgium?
There have been 20 confirmed cases of invasive meningitis B in the Canterbury area of Kent in southern England since last weekend, Sky News reported on Wednesday. A 21-year-old university student and secondary school pupil have died, and an individual has also been hospitalised in France after visiting the university. The University of Kent has begun a targeted vaccination programme in response.
Meningitis, an infection caused by meningococcal bacteria, inflames the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, known as the meninges, and can be fatal. Meningitis B is a bacterial form of meningitis, which tends to be more severe than viral forms. Telltale signs include a stiff neck, fever, vomiting and a rash.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases and professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News that the disease is spread through the transfer of saliva from one person to another, or through close personal contact.
Most cases in Canterbury in the last few days have been linked to student nightclub Club Chemistry.
"It's kissing, sharing drinks, probably vapes – although vapes haven't been implicated specifically before in a cluster," he said. "Any really crowded environments are a potential for transmission, long, prolonged close contact. People living in the same house are at risk of transmission as well."
'Explosive' outbreak
Susan Hopkins, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, told the BBC there was an "explosive nature" to the outbreak, which likely started within university halls of residences due to parties and social mixing.
In her 35 years in medicine, Hopkins said this was the most cases she had seen in a single weekend with this type of infection. "It's the explosive nature that is unprecedented here – the number of cases in such a short space of time," she said.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Thomas Waite, meanwhile, told the BBC that it was the quickest-growing outbreak he had seen in his career.
About 5,000 students in university halls in Kent will be offered the meningitis B vaccine from Wednesday to prevent further disease in several weeks if somebody has been harbouring the infection. Some have attempted to get the jab privately, but pharmacists have reportedly run out of stock or are down to their last supplies.
All British GPs are now asked to prescribe antibiotics to students at the University of Kent and to people who visited Club Chemistry between 5 and 7 March. In total, more than 2,500 doses of antibiotics have already been prescribed in the United Kingdom. A targeted vaccination program will also be launched.
Will there be an outbreak in Belgium?
Cases of meningitis have gradually fallen in Belgium after dropping sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2018, there were 116 cases across the country, compared to just 24 in 2021, 77 in 2024 and 72 in 2025.
In Brussels, there were 12 in 2018, four in 2021, and five in both 2024 and 2025. The capital's cases are much lower compared to the country's other regions: in Flanders, there were 41 cases in 2025, and 26 in Wallonia.
Deaths as a result of meningitis in Belgium are extremely rare in Belgium. However, a 17-year-old girl from Diksmuide in West Flanders died from a suspected case of meningitis after returning from a school trip just over a year ago. The teenager succumbed to the illness just 24 hours after falling ill. Six people died from meningitis in 2025, compared to eight the previous year.
Dr Stéphanie Jacquinet, a specialist in epidemiology and infectious disease at Belgium's public health institute Sciensano, told The Brussels Times that the outbreak in the UK is "unusual", with "many cases, very quickly". She therefore says "the likelihood is low" of the same thing happening in Belgium.
"That said, young adults are the main carriers of meningococcal bacteria and are therefore a group at risk of contracting the infection."
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Jacquinet says the best way for people to protect themselves against this illness is through vaccination.
Vaccination against the infection is included in the basic vaccination schedule for young people in Belgium, which offers protection against strains A, C, W and Y.
However, the vaccine for strain B, which is more recent, is recommended but not freely available. This creates inequality between families, as there is higher vaccination coverage in wealthier communes compared to those with lower average incomes.
"The vaccination scheme is very good in Belgium, but meningitis cases remain numerous, with a significant mortality rate," Professor David Tuerlinckx, head of the paediatrics department at Godinne University Hospital in Dinant, told Belga News Agency.
"One in ten children is at risk of dying, and one in five may suffer from hearing, learning, or other disabilities following meningitis."
