In the United Kingdom, an urgent public health alert has been issued after a deadly meningitis outbreak in Kent, with health workers across England urged to look out for signs of infection. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the alert as a vaccination programme targeting about 5,000 students began at the University of Kent, following an outbreak thought to have originated at a nightclub in Canterbury.
A 21-year-old university student and Juliette, a sixth-former at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, have died, with the number of confirmed and suspected cases now at 20. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking in Parliament yesterday, expressed his sympathy to the families of the two young people who died and the others who are seriously ill, saying that it was a deeply difficult time. A case has also now been confirmed at Canterbury Christ Church University.
The UKHSA said about 2,500 doses of antibiotics had been administered across Kent. It added that antibiotics remained the most effective treatment. Meningococcal disease is caused by bacteria that come in several strains. B and C are the strains that most commonly cause disease in Britain. Symptoms include a fever, headache, rapid breathing, drowsiness, shivering, vomiting and cold hands and feet.
