Meningitis strain behind outbreak leaving two dead identified as officials race to prevent nationwide spread
Health experts have identified a strain of meningitis which is part of the outbreak in Kent that has left two people dead and a further 11 confirmed infected.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is currently investigating the outbreak, has confirmed that some of the cases they have identified are meningitis B.
Officials said they would seek to confirm the strain in their other cases and would provide further information 'when we have the full results'.
A Year 13 pupil in Faversham called Juliette and a student at the University of Kent have died, while others required hospital treatment and some were put into an induced coma for treatment.
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People who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury on 5, 6 and 7 March have been encouraged to get preventative antibiotic treatment as a 'precautionary measure'.
The club owner, Louise Jones-Roberts, told PA that over 2,000 people entered the venue over those three days and the people who did will need tracing for antibiotics to help curb the spread of the strain.
She confirmed that 90 of her 95 staff had been contacted for antibiotics and that the club would be closed until further notice. Jones-Roberts later told the BBC that one of her staff members was among the 11 confirmed infections and was in hospital getting treatment.
The UKHSA's Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam explained that the meningitis outbreak was still contained in the area around Kent, and they hadn't seen signs of it going nationwide.
She said: "As serious and devastating as this current outbreak is, it’s very much contained in the local area in Canterbury and Kent, we’re not seeing this spread more widely.
"It really requires very close, prolonged contact or intimate contact such as kissing."
Clinics around Kent and Canterbury have been opened to provide antibiotics and people are showing up to get treatment which could help slow the spread of disease.
One of the particular dangers of meningitis B is that many people are not vaccinated against it.
Routine vaccination for babies and children for meningitis B was started in 2015, so most young people born before then are not protected against the strain.
What are the symptoms of meningitis?
Symptoms of meningitis can initially be mistaken for a cold or flu, though doctors warn it can become a very serious health risk in a matter of hours and people falling ill should not be left alone in case their condition deteriorates rapidly.
The symptoms can include:
- Fever
- A very bad headache
- Vomiting
- Stiff neck
- Dislike of bright lights
- Rash
- Confusion or delirium
- Severe sleepiness, losing consciousness
- Fits
A person with meningitis may not get all of these symptoms, and it can result in blood poisoning or sepsis.
Joe Harker