Professor gives worrying reason why meningitis outbreak is so severe with multiple fatalities
A health expert has explained why the meningitis B outbreak is spreading far faster and larger than expected.
A 21-year-old university student and a sixth form pupil have died with 20 more suspected cases, at least 10 of which attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 and 7 March.
Officials say the 'explosive' outbreak is unexpected because it usually appears as isolated cases rather than spreading rapidly through a community.
While you can get small clusters, large outbreaks typically develop slowly over months or even years.
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A previous outbreak in Gloucestershire during the 1980s involved 65 cases of meningitis B, but those infections were recorded over four and a half years, not in the space of a week.
Unlike illnesses such as measles, Covid or flu, meningococcal bacteria usually require close and prolonged contact to spread from person to person.
Speaking to the BBC, Prof Andrew Preston, from the University of Bath, says there are two two possible explanations for the outbreak in Kent.
He said there has been an 'astonishing rate of transmission' because so many people are catching the bacteria.
"But that would be UK wide – so it may be one of the factors, but it can't be the sole explanation," says Preston.
The underlying cause could reside in the bacteria itself, human behaviour, the environment or a combination of them all.
What is meningitis B?
Meningitis B bacteria commonly live harmlessly in the nose and throat.
Around 10 percent of people in the UK carry the bacteria, rising to as many as one in four teenagers and young adults.
In most cases the bacteria cause no problems, but in rare situations they can invade the bloodstream or brain, leading to meningitis or sepsis.
Jab rollout to 5,000 university campus students begins
The rollout of a meningitis B vaccine to about 5,000 students from a Canterbury campus has begun, the University of Kent has said.
At the university, the sports hall has at least 15 single tables for the first wave of meningitis vaccinations.
Nurses with plastic aprons and face masks were gathered waiting for students and staff to arrive at Sports Hall 2 on the Canterbury campus.
It comes after a University of Kent student said she has “no idea” how to get the meningitis vaccination.
The architecture student, who gave her name only as Sophie, told the Press Association: “I think people that live in on-campus accommodation are going to get them, but we live off campus so we are really not sure.”
She said students had fled the city after the news broke.
She said: “It’s so quiet now, most of our friends have gone home, it’s weird.
“We are the only two left in our house and we’re both going home today.”
Anish Vij