Students in Kent are to be offered targeted meningitis B vaccinations after two additional cases in a fatal outbreak were confirmed and pharmacy supplies ran low. Government scientists identified the bacterial strain B in two deaths, a strain for which most people have not been vaccinated.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the outbreak as unprecedented and rapidly developing in a Commons update. He confirmed that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched a small vaccination programme for students living at the University of Kent's Canterbury campus halls of residence, which may be expanded amid calls for an NHS catch-up programme as private pharmacy stocks dwindle.
The number of confirmed cases has risen from 13 to 15, with four involving meningitis B, including the two deaths. The remaining 11 cases are under investigation. Streeting noted that French health authorities alerted the UK to a second confirmed case in France involving a University of Kent student. Another affected student travelled to London and sought hospital care there.
Pharmacies have urged the NHS to commission a nationwide catch-up vaccination programme for those born before 2015, as private supplies run low. Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said worried families must not be left to a lottery and called for immediate NHS action. Private meningitis B vaccinations cost between £100 and £120 per dose, with a full course around £200 to £240.
A year 13 pupil named Juliette and an unnamed University of Kent student have died in the outbreak. UKHSA deputy director Gayatri Amirthalingam urged young people in Kent to take up antibiotic offers and said it is safe for students to return home after taking them. Streeting advised that symptoms are easily mistaken for common conditions like a hangover, and the bacteria spreads through prolonged close contact.
The UKHSA is advising anyone who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury on 5, 6, or 7 March to seek preventive antibiotics as a precautionary measure.
