2 people dead after meningitis outbreak at U.K. university

The institution cancelled all in-person exams on Monday, and the students' union called off events and shut down venues in response to the outbreak.

Two people have died, including a university student, and more than 10 others have been hospitalized with meningitis after the deadly infection broke out in the southeastern English town of Canterbury.

Eleven people in the area are in hospital after contracting the condition and are seriously ill, the BBC reported. Most of them are between 18 and 21 and are students at the University of Kent, located in Canterbury.

Both people who died in the outbreak are believed to be between the ages of 18 and 21. The University of Kent confirmed in an X post that one of the two was a student there.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm that one student from the University of Kent has died following a case of invasive meningitis,” the post reads.

A senior student at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, Kent, was confirmed dead from meningitis by headteacher Amelia McIlroy.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said Monday it was arranging antibiotics for some students in the Canterbury area of Kent following several cases of invasive meningococcal disease, adding that the “specific strain has not been identified at the present time.”

According to the university’s website, students living in several on-campus accommodations have been contacted to pick up antibiotics, and the university is urging students who have not been contacted but believe they may have been exposed to someone with meningitis to collect antibiotics as a precaution.