Key Summary
- UK Health Security Agency says meningitis outbreak peak has passed; cases down to 20, deaths remain at 2.
- Vaccination demand easing at University of Kent; eligible students urged to get MenB jabs and antibiotics.
- Experts say people born before 2015 may lack protection.
The UK Health Security Agency has said that the peak of a fatal meningitis outbreak in Kent has passed.
It also said that confirmed meningitis cases have fallen to 20 from 23 on Sunday (22). Three cases classified as confirmed were reclassified post-testing in the Meningococcal Reference Unit (MRU) in Manchester.
Experts are relieved as the death toll did not climb beyond two, and thanked partners NHS and the University of Kent for their unwavering support during the crisis to provide vaccination and antibiotics.
However, UKHSA continues to investigate on the meningococcal disease outbreak, that is thought to have originated in a local nightclub.
The long queues outside the vaccination site on the University of Kent’s Canterbury has diminished over the weekend.
Eligible students of the University of Kent who have returned home can avail both the MenB vaccination and antibiotics from their local GP practice.
Students who have gone out of the country can get vaccinated as soon as they return to the University.
For any eligible students who have returned, or will return to Scotland, please contact your local NHS Board’s Health Protection Team (HPT) in the first instance.
All the eligible individuals are urged to get vaccinated and consume necessary antibiotics to fully secure themselves from the infection.
They can utilise the Kent and Medway ICS page to be informed on the eligibility criteria.
The strain linked to the outbreak is Meningitis B (MenB) and routine vaccinations against the strain began only in 2015. Hence, those born before that are not protected.
