Laboratory confirmed cases of invasive meningoccocal infection in England: October to December 2025
Published 26 March 2026
Applies to England
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In England, the national UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Meningococcal Reference Unit (MRU) confirmed 108 cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) between October and December 2025.
Case numbers were very similar to the 112 confirmed in the equivalent period in 2024 but lower than the 186 cases in the equivalent period in 2019, before pandemic restrictions were implemented in the UK. Cases in 2020 – impacted by COVID-19 population control measures (1) – were very low, with 19 confirmed in the equivalent period. Sixty five, 102 and 92 cases were confirmed in the fourth quarter 2021, 2022 in 2023, respectivley, once IMD had re-emerged.
This re-emergence followed the complete withdrawal of COVID-19 containment measures in England from July 2021, with overall case numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels driven mainly by group B meningococcal disease (MenB). Cases due to the other capsular groups remained very low because of the highly effective indirect (herd) protection provided by the adolescent meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) conjugate vaccine programme introduced from August 2015, alongside direct protection in those vaccinated (2).
The distribution of IMD cases by capsular group between October and December 2025 is summarised in table 1. MenB accounted for 88.9% of all cases (96 of 108), followed by MenW at 4.6% (5 cases), MenY at 1.9% (2 cases), MenC at 0.9% (1 case) and MenZ at 0.9% (1 case) with ungrouped/ungroupable cases accounting for 2.8% (3 cases) of the total. There were no confirmed cases for any other capsular groups. Several MenW cases that arose during 2024 and 2025 were known to have had recent travel to the Middle East or were linked to returned travellers, with similar cases also identified in France and the United States of America associated with travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah pilgrimage (3).
The 96 MenB cases confirmed between October to December 2025 compared to 98 cases in the corresponding period in 2024. During October to December 2025, MenB was responsible for 94.9% (56 of 59) of IMD cases in individuals under 25 years of age and 81.6% (40 of 49) of cases in individuals aged 25 years or older (table 2). All (5 of 5) confirmed cases of MenW occurred in individuals aged over 25 years.
The latest vaccine coverage information is available at Vaccine uptake guidance and the latest coverage data. Earlier reports on IMD cases in England are available: Meningococcal disease: guidance, data and analysis
Earlier reports on IMD cases in England are available at Meningococcal disease: guidance, data and analysis.
Table 1. Invasive meningococcal disease in England by capsular group and laboratory testing method: October to December only, 2024 and 2025
| Capsular groups [note 1] | PCR and culture (2024) | PCR and culture (2025) | Culture only (2024) | Culture only (2025) | PCR only (2024) | PCR only (2025) | Total (2024) | Total (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 17 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 58 | 48 | 98 | 96 |
| C | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| W | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
| Y | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Z | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 0 | 1 |
| Ungrouped/ungroupable [note 2] | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 22 | 23 | 29 | 35 | 61 | 50 | 112 | 108 |
Note 1: No cases of group A, C, E or X were confirmed during the periods summarised in the table.
Note 2: Ungrouped or ungroupable refers to invasive clinical meningococcal isolates that were non-groupable, while ‘ungrouped’ cases refers to culture-negative but PCR screen (ctrA) positive and negative for the four genogroups (B, C, W and Y) routinely tested for.
Table 2. Invasive meningococcal disease in England by capsular group [note 1] and age group at diagnosis: October to December 2025
| Age groups | Capsular group B | Capsular group C | Capsular group W | Capsular group Y | Capsular group Z | Capsular group ‘Ungrouped or ungroupable’ [note 2] |
Total number | Total percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 9 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 11 | 10.2% |
| 1 to 4 years | 12 | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 11.1% |
| 5 to 9 years | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | 7.4% |
| 10 to 14 years | 4 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 5 | 4.6% |
| 15 to 19 years | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 16.7% |
| 20 to 24 years | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 4.6% |
| 25 to 44 years | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | 17.6% |
| 45 to 64 years | 10 | – | 3 | – | – | 2 | 15 | 13.9% |
| 65 years and over | 11 | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 15 | 13.9% |
| Total | 96 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 108 | 100.0% |
Note 1: No cases of group A, C, E, X, or Z were confirmed during the period summarised in the table.
Note 2: Ungrouped or ungroupable refers to invasive clinical meningococcal isolates that were non-groupable, while ‘ungrouped’ cases refers to culture-negative but PCR screen (ctrA) positive and negative for the four genogroups (B, C, W and Y) routinely tested for.
References
1. Subbarao S, Campbell H, Ribeiro S, Clark SA, Lucidarme J and others (2021). ‘Invasive meningococcal disease, 2011 to 2020, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, England’. Emerging Infectious Diseases: volume 27, number 9, pages 2,495 to 2,497
2. Campbell H and others (2022). ‘Impact of an adolescent meningococcal ACWY immunisation programme to control a national outbreak of group W meningococcal disease in England: a national surveillance and modelling study’. Lancet Child Adolescent Health: volume 6, issue 2
3. Vachon MS, Barret AS, Lucidarme J, Neatherlin J, Rubis AB, Howie RL, and others (2024). ‘Cases of meningococcal dsease associated with travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah pilgrimage: USA, UK and France, 2024’. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: volume 73, number 22, pages 514 to 516