About 5,000 students are set to receive the meningitis B (MenB) vaccine at the University of Kent following an outbreak that has left two people dead.
According to the UK Mirror, the move comes as health
officials race to contain the spread of the disease, with hundreds of close
contacts being offered antibiotics as an immediate precaution.
Fifteen cases of meningitis have been reported in the
Canterbury area to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), all requiring
hospital admission.
Four were confirmed as MenB, while officials warn the number
could rise given the infection’s incubation period of two to 14 days.
The BBC identified the two deaths as a 21-year-old
university student and Juliette, a sixth-form pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s
Grammar School in Faversham.
Susan Hopkins, UKHSA chief executive, described the outbreak
as having an “explosive nature”, while deputy chief medical officer Thomas
Waite said it was the fastest-growing outbreak he had seen in his career.
According to the BBC, Hopkins said the pattern suggests a
possible super-spreader event within university halls of residence, likely
linked to social mixing, but the source of the initial infection remains
unclear.
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