Study finds meningitis kills a quarter million people each year

More than a quarter of a million people worldwide die from meningitis each year, a large new study estimated on Saturday, following a recent outbreak of the disease in the UK. Children accounted for a third of the deaths, many of which occurred in Africa, according to research described as the most comprehensive global assessment of meningitis yet.

The study, published in the journal Lancet Neurology, comes after meningitis made headlines when two people died during an outbreak believed to have spread at a nightclub in southeast England earlier this month.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the tissues around the brain and spinal cord caused by infection with a range of viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. Bacterial infections are rarer but more deadly than viral ones. It was a bacterial outbreak in the English county of Kent that prompted more than 10,000 people to get vaccinated in the area over the last two weeks.

Since 2000, the widespread availability of vaccines has reduced the number of meningitis cases and deaths worldwide. However, an estimated 259,000 people died from the disease in 2023, according to new research by the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The "African meningitis belt," which stretches across the continent from Senegal to Ethiopia, had the highest rate of cases, with Nigeria, Chad and Niger particularly hard hit. Low birthweight, premature birth and air pollution were identified as the biggest risk factors, the study found.

The study also warned that the World Health Organization is unlikely to reach its 2030 target for meningitis. The WHO aims to cut the global number of bacterial meningitis cases by 50% – and deaths by 70% – compared with 2015 levels by the end of this decade.

However, annual deaths and cases are only falling at half the rate needed to meet this target, the study found. "Accelerated efforts – including expanding immunization, improving access to care, and strengthening diagnostics and surveillance – are essential to achieve these targets," it said. Many deaths from meningitis go unreported, particularly in developing countries, meaning some figures could be underestimated, the researchers cautioned.