Three cheerleaders & Morrisons worker rushed to hospital with meningitis as outbreak spreads to London and cases hit 27
THREE cheerleaders and a Morrisons worker have been rushed to hospital with meningitis as the deadly outbreak spreads to London.
Health officials confirmed cases have risen to 27, while doctors across the country are being told to “watch for symptoms” in patients.
The number of reported cases of meningitis is up from 20 yesterday, with 15 confirmed and 12 still under investigation.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the bug requires “close and prolonged contact” to spread, such as living in the same home.
Cases linked to the outbreak have now been confirmed at two universities and four schools in Kent, as well as one institution in the capital.
Escape Studios in Greenwich, South East London, said one of its students had been rushed to hospital after contracting the “unprecedented” bug.
And last weekend, French authorities alerted the UKHSA to a confirmed case of meningitis in France, with the person now in a “stable” condition.
It comes as Kent County Council’s director of public health could not confirm if the deadly outbreak of meningitis had been contained.
Dr Anjan Ghosh told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’re not in the position yet to say that definitively, that it’s been contained.”
The Health Secretary today visited the sports centre at the University of Kent as hundreds of students queued to receive vaccines and antibiotics.
But the queue to get a meningitis B vaccine at the university has now closed “due to capacity”.
The University of Kent said: “Nursing staff are unable to see any more people within the clinic’s remaining opening hours today.
“The team have been working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as possible.”
Wes Streeting said eligibility for vaccinations would be broadened and 20,000 doses would be released to ease shortages in the private market.
But the National Pharmacy Association claimed the figure was unlikely to meet the current level of demand.
Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, said “hundreds of thousands” of patients had already come forward seeking vaccination.
Anyone who visited Club Chemistry from 5 March until it closed and all students at the affected universities and schools can now receive the jab.
But the queue to get a MenB vaccine has now closed “due to capacity”.
The university said: “Nursing staff are unable to see any more people within the clinic’s remaining opening hours today.
MENINGITIS OUTBREAK TIMELINE
March 5, 6 and 7
“Super-spreader event” as more than 2,000 revellers attend Club Chemistry across the weekend.
March 12
French authorities become aware of a case of meningitis in a student who attended University of Kent.
March 13
Medics at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust alert local UKHSA branch of the first case of invasive meningitis.
March 14
UKHSA contact University of Kent.
French authorities finally alert UK health officials to the confirmed case in France.
Hospitals report a number of young adults with symptoms consistent with the disease and contact tracing begins.
March 15
Antibiotics are offered to those traced in connection with the outbreak and distribution begins in halls of residences with cases.
UKHSA stands up “full scale response” and schools with cases are identified
A public health alert is issued.
March 16
Club Chemistry highlighted as potential link to “invasive” spread
Two youngsters – 18-year-old sixth form student Juliette and a 21-year-old from the University of Kent – are confirmed to have died as a result of the outbreak.
Total of 13 cases
March 17
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says four cases of Meningitis B are confirmed and 11 are under investigation. All cases are linked to Kent.
Total of 15 cases
March 18
UKHSA says there are now nine confirmed cases, with strain in six cases confirmed to be MenB – 11 more being investigated but no further deaths.
Canterbury Christ Church University confirms meningitis case in a student.
Roughly 2,500 doses of antibiotics are given out and 5,000 students are offered vaccines.
Total of 20 cases
March 19
First confirmed case at a school in London, with four schools now affected in Kent. UKHSA says there are 15 confirmed and 12 cases still under investigation.
Total of 27 cases
“The team have been working incredibly hard to vaccinate as many people as possible.”
It meant a number of students, including one who went to the nightclub at the centre of the outbreak, was turned away.
Hayden Taylor, 19, a radiography student at Canterbury Christ Church, went to the Club Chemistry nightclub on March 12.
And Isobel, 21, an English literature student at the University of Kent, was turned away after a 80-minute drive to the centre by her mother.
Speaking outside the Canterbury campus, Mr Streeting told reporters the risk to the general public was “extremely low”.
He said: “I also want to reassure people, that in terms of the way in which this infection and disease spreads, it is through close personal contact.
“We’ve got effective treatment through the antibiotic, we’ve got effective vaccination, which is up and running.
“All of those things taken together mean that the risks, even for students here in Canterbury, are relatively low… this isn’t like Covid.”
Cheerleader Olivia Parkins, 18, said three of her teammates are among those who have been taken to hospital following the deadly outbreak.
She explained at least one had been to Club Chemistry on March 5, before attending a competition with the University of Kent team on March 11.
The UKHSA yesterday issued an alert for the NHS across England on signs and symptoms of meningitis to look out for.
It urged doctors to have a “high index of suspicion where a young person aged 16 to 30 attends with consistent signs or symptoms” of the bug.
And European health chiefs have also urged doctors across the continent to be vigilant for meningitis cases and mask up, where necessary.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said it is ‘monitoring the situation through event-based surveillance’.
A public health alert issued last night told doctors to ask patients showing meningitis symptoms whether they had recently travelled to Kent.
MenB – the strain involved in the outbreak – accounted for 55 per cent of cases in the continent in 2024 and 57 per cent in 2023, the ECDC added.
The UKHSA chief scientific advisor, Professor Robin May, had previously warned the number of confirmed cases was likely to increase.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said: “You would typically expect a small increase in numbers still to go. I suspect that number will go up slightly.”
Experts believe the outbreak started following a “super-spreader event” at a popular nightclub – Club Chemistry – in Kent.
Morrisons said an employee from its distribution centre in nearby Sittingbourne had contracted meningitis after visiting the venue.
And yesterday, Canterbury Christ Church University confirmed the first meningitis case among its students was linked to the “super club”.
Health officials are desperate to contain the devastating surge, which has been declared a national incident, with two young people already dead.
Sixth form pupil Juliette, 18, tragically died on Saturday surrounded by her devastated family after falling victim to the deadly bug.
Meanwhile, a 21-year-old student from the University of Kent has also sadly died after contracting the disease.
Nine-month-old Nala-Rose Fletcher has become the youngest person to fall ill amid the deadly bug outbreak.
The UKHSA have said the tot’s case is not currently being linked to the outbreak, but it will remain under investigation.
And we exclusively told how one student was left blind and unable to walk after contracting the bug while celebrating her 21st at Club Chemistry.
Annabelle Mackay’s housemates saved her life after rushing her to hospital when she collapsed in Canterbury.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with those affected at this “deeply difficult time”.
What is meningitis and what are the symptoms?
Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord – called the meninges.
It can be very serious if not treated quickly – it can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.
Symptoms include:
- A high temperature (fever)
- Being sick
- A headache
- A rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop)
- A stiff neck
- A dislike of bright lights
- Drowsiness or unresponsiveness
- Seizures (fits)
Call 999 for an ambulance or go to your nearest A&E immediately if you think you or someone you look after could have meningitis or sepsis.
Meningitis is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection.
Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis.
Vaccinations offer some protection against certain causes of meningitis.
These include the:
- MenB vaccine – offered to babies aged 8 weeks, followed by a second dose at 16 weeks and a booster at 1 year
- 6-in-1 vaccine – offered to babies at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age
- pneumococcal vaccine – 2 doses offered to babies at 12 weeks and 1 year, and a single dose offered to adults aged 65 or over
- Hib/MenC vaccine – offered to babies at 1 year of age
- MMR vaccine – offered to babies at 1 year and a second dose at 3 years and 4 months
- MenACWY vaccine – offered to teenagers, sixth formers and “fresher” students going to university for the first time
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