The European countries with the highest number of meningitis cases and deaths - as thousands get vaccinated in UK after Kent outbreak
On Monday (23 March) latest figures released show there have been no new meningitis cases linked to the outbreak in Kent.
Twenty cases have been confirmed in Kent, with nine still under investigation, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
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All those affected have been hospitalised. Health officials have now administered 9,360 vaccines and given 12,733 precautionary antibiotics in response to the situation.
The outbreak in Kent was traced to a Canterbury nightclub and killed two young people.
It has prompted one of the largest public health responses in Kent in recent years.
The UKHSA count of confirmed cases dropped on Sunday (22 March) from 23 to 20 and suspected cases were reduced from 11 to nine after further testing.
Authorities said today (Monday 23 March) that there had been no change to the figures.
Despite this, Wolverhampton Councillor Obaida Ahmed has issued a warning to residents.
She said: "While there is currently no increased risk to people in Wolverhampton, we know how important it is to stay informed and so we’re asking residents to stay alert to the signs and seek medical help immediately if they’re concerned.
"Anyone with symptoms of meningitis should call 999 or go to A&E straight away. If someone goes to bed unwell, check on them regularly.”
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shares the most recent data for meningococcal disease per year in Europe.
The most recent data is for the year 2023, and it gives you the number of cases and deaths per country.
Listed below are the top five European countries with the most reported confirmed cases of meningitis in 2023, and the number of reported cases.
France - 558
Spain - 265
Germany - 251
Poland - 154
Netherlands - 127
Listed below are the top five European countries with the most amount of confirmed cases of people who have died from meningitis in 2023, and the number of deaths.
France - 58
Spain - 35
Germany - 33
Poland - 16
Slovakia - 9
It shows that France, Spain and Germany are the European countries most affected by meningitis in 2023.
The ECDC said that the EU and European Economic Area (EAA) general population is at very low risk of invasive meningococcal disease related to the recent outbreak in Kent due to a very small probability of exposure and infection.
The ECDC warned, however, that control measures should be initiated immediately if a case linked to the outbreak in England is detected in the EU/EEA, to identify close contacts and administer antibiotics and vaccinations.
France has reported one case of invasive meningococcal disease possibly linked to the outbreak.
The ECDC is in contact with national authorities in the UK and EU/EEA in relation to the outbreak and is monitoring the situation through event-based and integrated epidemiological and genomic surveillance.
