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The number of meningitis infections linked to Kent continues to grow, with five confirmed new cases on Wednesday, in what experts have described as the quickest-growing outbreak of the disease they have seen.
The UK Health Security Agency said that as of 5pm on Tuesday there were 20 cases of invasive meningococcal disease, up from 15. Nine have been confirmed in the laboratory, while a further 11 are under investigation. Six are confirmed to be the meningitis B strain, also known as MenB, which is the most common form of invasive meningococcal disease.
Experts said the number of cases in such a short space of time was unprecedented. Susan Hopkins, the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “This looks like a super-spreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities. There will have been some parties particularly around this, so there will have been lots of social mixing.
“I can’t yet say where the initial infection came from, how it’s got into this cohort, and why it’s created such an explosive amount of infections. I can say that in my 35 years working in medicine, in healthcare and hospitals, this is the most cases I’ve seen in a single weekend with this type of infection.
“It’s the explosive nature that is unprecedented here – the number of cases in such a short space of time.”
Dr Thomas Waite, a deputy chief medical officer for England, said: “This is by far the quickest-growing outbreak I’ve ever seen in my career, and I think probably any of us have seen, of meningitis for a very long time. Whilst it remains an outbreak that is having its consequences in Kent, it is obviously of national significance.”
UKHSA said it was now coordinating a national response to the outbreak. “One individual who had resided in Kent presented to a London hospital with no community contacts in London,”the agency said. Currently all cases linked to the outbreak involved young adults, it added. While there is a baby with confirmed MenB, they are not believed to be linked to the outbreak, although UKHSA said it would continue to investigate this case.
Meningitis is an infection of the protective lining of the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by different bacteria and viruses. MenB is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacterium, also known as the meningococcus. These bacteria usually live harmlessly in people’s throats, but can cause life-threatening disease if it gets into the blood or spinal fluid. Prompt treatment with antibiotics is crucial.
GPs across England will on Wednesday be advised to prescribe antibiotics to anyone who attended Club Chemistry, a nightclub in Canterbury, between 5 and 7 March and to University of Kent students who have left campus.
Trish Mannes, the UKHSA regional deputy director for the south-east, said: “Around 2,500 doses of antibiotics have now been administered across sites in Kent and we continue to encourage close contacts to come forward for the treatment. This includes those offered at the University of Kent and anyone who visited Club Chemistry between 5-7 March. This is the main intervention that will help protect people and halt the spread of the outbreak.”
UKHSA said it would begin vaccinating 5,000 students living on the university’s Canterbury campus.
However, Olivier Picard, the chair of the National Pharmacy Association, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there was no stock of MenB vaccines that people could pay for privately.
He said pharmacies were used to “bridging the gap” between what the NHS offered and what patients wanted, but added: “Unfortunately, that supply has run out, and most of our distributors, wholesalers have no stock. And whilst we’re hearing that there may be some stock in the system, it is taking its time to come into our fridges. There’s no date of resupply.”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, told BBC Breakfast: “What’s worried us about the Canterbury outbreak is the pace and extent of the spread of the disease – that is unprecedented and that’s why we are being so proactive in the provision of antibiotics, because they’re an effective treatment, but also standing up vaccination at a pace and in a way that we wouldn’t normally do. I hope that that will give some reassurance to people.”
Asked whether there was concern the outbreak could spread to other parts of the country as students left Canterbury, Streeting said: “No and lots of students from Kent have already gone home. It’s exam week at the university this week, so there are still quite a few students around sitting their exams. Lots of students will have gone home, and that’s fine. That’s OK.
“What we need people to do is to think through in terms of their individual situations, were they at Club Chemistry on 5, 6 or 7 March? If the answer to that question is yes, the sensible thing to do is to access antibiotics.”
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