The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that as of 5pm on Wednesday, the number of cases of meningitis linked to an outbreak in Kent has risen to 27.

It has claimed the lives of two young people — a 21-year-old university student and an 18-year-old school student.

Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis affects around 2.3 million people globally every year. It’s estimated that up to one in every 10 cases of bacterial meningitis is fatal, according to the NHS.

Check out its symptoms here 👇

Hundreds of masked-up students queued on Wednesday (Mar 18) to get vaccinated at the UK university campus at the heart of a deadly meningitis outbreak, as the number of cases rose to 20.

At least 200 students formed a long queue at the grassy campus near the medieval Cathedral city of Canterbury, as the university rolled out a targeted vaccination programme for meningitis B - a deadly bacterial strain.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday called on anyone who visited a nightclub at the centre of a deadly meningitis outbreak to come forward to receive antibiotics.

Nala-Rose Fletcher, from Folkestone, is currently in intensive care at Evelina London Children's Hospital and doctors have said she will be permanently affected by the infection.

It is unclear whether her illness is connected to the ongoing outbreak.