Students urged to top up vaccines before term time

Students in the South West have been urged to make sure they are up to date with vaccines ahead of the new academic year.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) South West said new and returning students should be vaccinated against common diseases such as meningitis, HPV and measles.

Dr Monica Koo, from UKHSA, said meningitis cases normally spike when the new university term starts.

Dr Koo said lots of students who were "coming from all over the county and overseas are suddenly getting very up close, so we do see an uptick in all sorts of illnesses including meningitis as well as more common infections like flu and COVID".

She said it was "really important" for students to get vaccinated as meningitis and septicaemia, although rare, can lead to "serious life-changing complications and in some cases death - so it is really serious".

UKHSA said students should arrange to get vaccinated with their local GP "as soon as possible" or "as soon as they start university" if that is not possible.

A spokesperson for UKHSA said close mixing and confined environments meant campuses "can be hot spots for Covid-19, flu, measles, mumps and meningitis as they present the perfect opportunity for infection to spread".

UKHSA said students should be up to date with three vaccines:

• MenACWY – meningitis and septicaemia
• MMR – measles, mumps and rubella
• HPV – human papilloma virus (HPV)-related cancers such as cervical cancer

It said students should also be aware of the symptoms of meningitis.

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