In a bid to reduce outbreaks of meningitis on university campuses, health officials are to alert students across the UK about the dangers of this potentially deadly disease. At the start of the academic year, the government’s health protection agency aims to alert Britain’s two million students about the risks of catching meningitis.

Plans have been announced to launch a leaflet offering various pieces of advice including how to minimise the risks of catching the disease. According to the leaflet, students are placed in a high-risk category with the typical student lifestyle of drinking, sexual activity and other forms of close personal contact such as clubbing allowing for meningitis to spread quickly.

One in four UK students carry the bacteria that cause meningitis at the back of their throats, the Meningitis Trust says. The figure is one in ten for other adults.

Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of the agency’s immunization department had stated that:“University bars and campuses where lots of students are in close proximity is an ideal place for bacteria and viruses to spread which is why we may see more outbreaks of these infections in this environment.

”Figures from Meningitis UK suggest that 3,000 people are affected each year by all types of bacterial meningitis with a further 500,000 having had viral or bacterial meningitis. Research has also shown that one in ten victims will die and that one in seven survivors will suffer from some sort of permanent disability such as the loss of limbs, blindness, deafness or brain damage.

Several UK universities had high-profile outbreaks of meningitis C in the 1990s, the largest of which was in 1997 at Southampton University where three students died with a further 3 contracting the disease.

Although scientists now consider another outbreak of meningitis C in the UK to be very unlikely, outbreaks of the most common strain, meningitis B, are still possible.At the moment there is no vaccination for meningitis B but the HPA leaflet also gives information of what characterizes meningitis.

The classic symptoms for meningitis include headaches, muscle stiffness and an aversion to bright lights as well as vomiting, diarrhoea and fevers.The tumbler test is also advised for those who rapidly fall ill. The test, which looks to identify the meningococcal septicaemia rash, states that to identify they rash press a class tumbler against it and if it does not fade to seek immediate medical advice. On darker skin, people are advised to check for the rash on lighter areas of the body such as the fingertips where the rash will be most prominent.

The majority of people with this strain of the disease develop a rash of pink spots that can rapidly develop into purple bruising. Students are being urged to ensure that their vaccinations are up to date including the MMR and the MenC jab that protects against the C strain.