UK meningitis outbreak cases rise to 27

LONDON – The number of meningitis cases being probed by the British authorities has risen to 27, health officials said on March 19, following an unprecedented deadly outbreak centred on a university.

In a statement, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that “15 laboratory cases are confirmed, and 12 notifications remain under investigation, bringing the total to 27”.

Two people have died since the epidemic came to light at the weekend, centred on the University of Kent in south-eastern Canterbury and a local nightclub popular with students.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has led urgent calls for young people who visited the nightclub on the weekend of the outbreak to come forward, adding that health experts were working to identify close contacts of those who were ill.

Speaking in Parliament on March 17, he asked “anyone who attended Club Chemistry on March 5, 6 or 7 to come forward, please, to receive antibiotics”.

The university has rolled out a targeted vaccination programme for meningitis B – a deadly bacterial strain – for about 5,000 students. On March 18, hundreds of students queued on campus to get the jab.

The number of cases being probed by the authorities has risen since March 17 from 15 to 27, the authorities confirmed on March 19, amid fears the disease could spread as students head home for the Easter vacation.

The French authorities also reported one case involving a person in France who had attended the University of Kent.

Cases have also been confirmed in students at four schools in Kent, as well as one student at a higher education institution in London, the British health authorities said.

The two deaths in the outbreak have been identified as an 18-year-old schoolgirl and a 21-year-old University of Kent student.

Meningitis is a potentially deadly infection that can lead to sepsis if it affects the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

It is most common among young children, teenagers and young adults.

Initial symptoms of meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness and a stiff neck, but these are symptoms of different illnesses and can hamper prompt diagnosis.

It can progress rapidly, with another sign often being a rash, and is spread through prolonged close contact, including kissing or sharing of vapes or drinks.

At least nine of the confirmed cases are of group B meningococcal disease, according to the UKHSA.

The bacterial strain is rarer and deadlier than the viral type.

Doctors nationwide have been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone attending their surgeries who visited Club Chemistry between March 5 and 7, and to University of Kent students “if they have been asked to seek preventative treatment”. AFP