Overview

• Ketia Moponda, 19, fell ill eight days after starting at De Montfort University and was found unconscious in her room before being rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary ICU and placed in a coma.
• Doctors diagnosed meningococcal septicaemia and bacterial meningitis, which progressed to sepsis and led to amputations of both lower legs and all fingers on January 7, 2025, after transfer to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
• She was discharged from hospital on February 24, received prosthetic lower legs in May, is in rehabilitation in Wolverhampton, and is already walking unaided in parks.
• Moponda is publicly sharing her experience to warn students that early symptoms can resemble a cold and to seek urgent care if symptoms escalate or feel unusual.
• Meningitis Now and the Meningitis Research Foundation are urging students to review their vaccination status, highlighting that MenACWY does not protect against MenB and calling for an NHS MenB booster for students and wider, fairly priced access to MenB vaccines.