An outbreak of invasive meningitis at the University of Kent and three schools has resulted in two deaths and 11 hospitalisations, health officials have confirmed. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said 13 cases have been notified since March 13, including the deaths of a university student and a sixth-former at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school (QEGS) in Faversham.
The sixth-form student, named as Juliette by teachers, was described as a “kind, thoughtful and intelligent” young woman who “embraced everything that school had to offer with great enthusiasm and joy”. Her father told the BBC the family were “beyond devastated”. Two other schools, Simon Langton grammar school for boys in Canterbury and Norton Knatchbull school in Ashford, confirmed that a year 13 student from each was in hospital with meningitis.
Long queues of students, many wearing face masks, formed at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus on Monday morning as they awaited antibiotics. The UKHSA has been contacting individuals who may have been exposed to the infection. The university has moved all assessments due this week online, affecting about 1,700 students, but the campus remains open.
Law student Millie Inglis, 21, said she received a message to collect antibiotics and described the situation as “very Covid-esque”. Kirab Rhoda, 18, a law and criminology student from Uganda, said her mother offered to book her a flight home but she felt reassured by the university’s response. Helen Whately, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, called the outbreak “a huge shock” and said she had spoken to the health secretary, Wes Streeting.
The UKHSA is continuing to investigate the outbreak, and the specific strain of meningitis has not yet been identified. Officials have urged anyone with symptoms to seek medical advice urgently.
