Student’s meningitis battle highlights rising campus outbreaks and urges vaccination

Sofia Mattacola Westley, a 19-year-old university student, contracted meningitis after attending a concert, experiencing fever, migraine, vomiting and fainting before a delayed diagnosis. She spent five days in hospital and now deals with chronic fatigue and low-pressure headaches, forcing her to defer her studies. Her experience coincides with a UK meningitis surge this year, with 348 confirmed infections and 26 fatalities, prompting the UK Health Security Agency to issue warnings after clusters in Kent, Canterbury, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Berkshire.

Health professionals explain the illness can be bacterial or viral, spreads through close contact, and is often confused with “freshers’ flu.” The NHS now offers a free vaccine to Year 13 students and incoming undergraduates, though it does not guarantee protection. Westley urges peers to recognize symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, light sensitivity, neck stiffness and possible rash, and to seek care promptly.