Meningitis cases rise to 34 while queues for vaccinations build up

The total number of meningitis cases after the Kent outbreak has reached 34.

More people have become infected with the rare but deadly disease since early March. Two have died, including a University of Kent student and a local sixth-form pupil, who passed away less than 12 hours after her symptoms began.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that the cases have now risen to 34.

Health officials and experts predict that more cases will appear as the incubation time for the infection is between two and 14 days.

Yesterday, a case of meningitis linked to the outbreak in a Kent nightclub was recorded in London.

The UKHSA said yesterday that the patients include pupils at four Kent schools and ‘one student at a higher education institution in London’.

This infection is ‘directly linked’ to the Kent outbreak, which erupted from a nightclub popular with students called Club Chemistry.

Escape Studios, an animation and video game college in North Greenwich, confirmed that one of its students has become infected with meningitis.

It added: ‘We understand that the individual is now recovering well, and our Student Services Team is offering support. This case is linked to the wider situation currently being managed in Kent.’

A case of meningitis linked to the Kent outbreak was recorded in France and flagged by French officials to the UKHSA.

UKHSA chief scientific officer Professor Robin May has warned that cases would continue to increase, with some cases still ‘under investigation’.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I would say in outbreaks like this, you would typically expect a small increase in numbers still to go, so I suspect that number will go up slightly.’

He said the abrupt batch of cases is ‘unusual’ compared to past outbreaks.

‘So, typically, you would expect to see sporadic cases of meningitis, typically individual patients,’ Professor May said.

‘Most days, actually, we would see one in the UK. This is obviously a much larger number.

‘What is particularly remarkable about this case, and unexpected about this case, is the large number of cases all originating from what seems to be a single event.

‘There are two possible reasons for that. One is that there might be something about the kind of behaviours that individual people are doing.’

He added: ‘The other possibility is the bacteria itself may have evolved to be better at transmitting.’

Health bosses in Kent, meanwhile, have assured residents there’s ‘no reason to be anxious’, adding that people who have signs of infection need to ‘act fast’.

Metro spoke with nearly a dozen health experts yesterday who said the outbreak will continue to creep, it will be generally contained within Kent.

Cases outside the Kent area may not be related to the outbreak; meningitis-causing bacteria already exist across the UK.

Though Andrew Preston, a professor of microbial pathogenesis, the study of how germs infect things, doubts there will be ‘wider community spread’.

He told Metro: ‘We’re not seeing signals of widespread, although there is a period of time between acquiring the bacterium in our airways and disease occurring, so it could be that some are carrying the bacteria without knowing it.’

Mark Fielder, a medical microbiology professor, said that officials offering students antibiotics before the jab would have helped stunt the outbreak.

‘The approach being taken will limit any onward spread and help to bring the outbreak under control,’ he added to Metro.

‘The risk to people in Kent and around the country remains low overall.’

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