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BRADFORD students are being urged not to ignore serious health warning signs during freshers' week.
Health experts say symptoms like headaches, vomiting and extreme tiredness could be mistaken for freshers' flu but may actually be the early signs of meningitis.
Sobia Qasim, a pharmacist at online pharmacy Curely, said: "Freshers' week is probably one of the easiest environments in which to dismiss the early signs of meningitis."
Early symptoms can resemble a hangover or viral illness, making them easy to overlook.
The warning follows an NHS vaccination campaign that saw 246,089 doses of the MenB vaccine administered to young people in England between July 20 and August 31.
First-year students are around seven times more at risk of meningococcal disease than their peers who are not at university.
Meningitis can progress rapidly and not all cases present with a rash, so students are being advised not to wait for textbook symptoms before seeking urgent medical help.