The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is continuing to investigate an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Kent.
We are liaising with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which has confirmed it has contacted the UKHSA Incident team regarding any potential implications or actions for the Adult Social Care sector.
24 March 2026: We have been informed there are no potential implications or actions for the Adult Social Care sector.
DHSC is working on a general Q&A document, which we will share once completed.
Ongoing updates
The UKHSA has been investigating an invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) outbreak first detected in March 2026.
Latest updates from the ongoing outbreak can be found here. This page also includes a background section that provides information on meningitis, its symptoms and links to NHS guidance on meningitis.
Notified cases
An up-to-date count of confirmed or probable notified cases connected to the incident, which is updated regularly can be found here.
Case numbers will be recorded at 12:30pm each day, and will include only those defined as either confirmed or probable. These figures will be published the following day at 9:30am.
As this is a live incident, there will be additional suspected cases notified to UKHSA, which need to be actively investigated. These will not be reported until the investigation determines that they should be included as either confirmed or probable cases, or discarded as not related to the incident.
Case counts attached to the incident are provisional and subject to change (upwards or downwards) as intelligence about their connection to the incident improves, clinical assessment changes, or further microbiological characterisation becomes available. In outbreaks, case definitions are updated as new intelligence comes to light, which may affect the counts.
The UK Health Security Agency also has a blog post concerning the developing outbreak. This blog post is updated regularly, and includes information on the vaccination programme.
We will continue to liaise with DHSC and update this page accordingly.
