Meningitis and septicaemia: UK facts and figures

Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) estimates that about 3,400 people get bacterial meningitis and associated septicaemia in the UK each year. This means that, on average, more than nine people will contract meningitis or septicaemia every day. This figure is intended to represent the true burden of uncontrolled disease in the UK rather than the number of cases in a single year. Where possible we have corrected for under-reporting of cases in routine surveillance: you can see the data source and calculations by clicking on each cell.

Table 1: Annual cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia by country and type (2009-2010)

	Meningococcal meningitis & septicaemia		Pneumococcal meningitis	Haemophilus influenzae meningitis	TB Meningitis	Other Cases	Neonatal Group B Steptococcal septicaemia	Total
	All	MenB
England	1208	1074	380	31	192	275		2143
Wales	57	49
Scotland	139	124	25	2	10	81		257
Northern Ireland	65	62	2	0	0	36		103
Total UK	1469	1309	407	33	202	392	274	2777

Table 2: Average annual cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia representing the current burden of uncontrolled disease by country and type

	Meningococcal meningitis & septicaemia		Pneumococcal meningitis	Haemophilus influenzae meningitis	TB Meningitis	Other Cases	Neonatal Group B Steptococcal septicaemia	Total
	All	MenB
England	1709	1572	384	29	188	338		2724
Wales	76	69
Scotland	184	137	22	5	7	36		254
Northern Ireland	106	92	2	0	1	45		153
Total UK	2074	1870	408	34	196	418	274	3404

Table 1 shows epidemiological year 2009/10 when there were approximately 2,800 cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia in the UK. However, MenB disease happens to be at a natural low in 2009/10, and is likely to rise again if the infection remains uncontrolled, so looking at data from this year alone under-represents the true burden of disease. For decades MenB infection has been the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK. Figure 1 shows how MenB infection has declined over the past decade even though there is no vaccine to prevent it.

Table 2 shows the current potential burden of uncontrolled meningitis and septicaemia. We represent the level of MenB infection that still circulates by averaging the annual number of cases over the past decade. Where vaccines have reduced cases of some kinds of meningitis (MenC, Hib and pneumococcal), we have accounted for this. The source of the data and an explanation of any calculations can be obtained by clicking on the relevant cell within the tables.

Figure 1: Laboratory-confirmed cases of MenC and MenB in England and Wales by epidemiological year

MRF collects data on the number of cases from different sources including the Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, Northern Ireland Public Health Agency, and English Hospital Episode Statistics. The source of the data and an explanation of any calculations can be obtained by clicking on the relevant cell within the tables.

Glossary

Epidemiological year – the year running from July to June, rather than January to December. Most forms of meningitis, like many infectious diseases, vary with the season and reach a peak during the winter. Looking at epidemiological years means that every winter peak always falls within one year rather than being divided between two consecutive calendar years. We have used data for epidemiological years when available. Where data are available for calendar year only, we have taken data from 2009 to keep as closely as possible to epidemiological year 2009/10.

Grouped cases of meningococcal disease are cases for which it has been possible to identify the serogroup. Meningococcal bacteria are classified into 13 different serogroups, based on kind of polysaccharide capsule (sugar coating) that surrounds the bacteria. Only 5 serogroups are known to cause disease in the UK: A,B,C,W135 and Y.

Ungrouped cases in lab-confirmed data are those for which it has not been possible to identify the serogroup (i.e. whether it is MenB, MenC or another serogroup). This means the case has been confirmed as a meningococcal case using PCR to detect meningococcal DNA or other microbiological technique, but further testing to determine the serogroup was not successful. We have also included ungroupable cases here: these are cases where the reference laboratory has been unable to determine an expressed capsule (this result is rare and often associated with throat or nose swab isolates). In data reported from Scotland and Northern Ireland, cases reported as ungrouped also include cases that are clinically diagnosed as meningococcal disease without ever receiving laboratory confirmation.

Download a spreadsheet with full calculations