Long queues of students, many in face masks, formed at the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus on Monday morning. They were waiting for antibiotics. Two young people had died of invasive meningitis, and 11 others were in hospital.
One of the dead was a University of Kent student. The second was a sixth-former at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school in Faversham. Two other schools, Simon Langton grammar school for boys in Canterbury and Norton Knatchbull school in Ashford, confirmed that each had a Year 13 student in hospital with the disease.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday evening that it had been notified of 13 cases since March 13, including the two deaths. The specific strain had not yet been identified. Officials said some university students had been given antibiotics and others were in hospital.
A school remembers Juliette
Teachers named the Faversham student as Juliette. “She was incredibly kind, thoughtful and intelligent and she loved our school and was very happy here,” said head teacher Amelia McIlroy, who added that Juliette had been at the school for seven years. “In short, she was a lovely girl, her beautiful smile, her loving nature and her sense of fun will be hugely missed. We are all devastated.”
Juliette’s father told the BBC the family were “beyond devastated and they have no words to express their loss.”
Tracing contacts
UKHSA confirmed that some of the cases had visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury. It is offering free antibiotics at temporary sites to anyone who went on March 5, 6 or 7. Club owner Louise Jones-Roberts told the Press Association that more than 2,000 people would have been there over the three days. “I’m devastated,” she said. “Meningitis affects healthy, young people and this is devastating.”
Many students turned up after UKHSA contacted them directly about possible exposure. Others are thought to have come after calling 111. The agency sent advice letters to all 16,000 students at the university, covering recent cases, symptoms and how to get antibiotics. Not everyone was to receive them; only close contacts of those affected qualified.
Teaching has ended for the term at Kent and exams are under way. All assessments scheduled for this week will move online, which affects about 1,700 students, but the campus remains open. “It’s not a Covid lockdown situation,” a spokesperson said.
Kirab Rhoda, 18, a law and criminology student from Uganda, said her mother had offered to book her a flight home. She decided to stay, reassured by the university handing out medicine. Millie Inglis, a 21-year-old law student, said the message to collect antibiotics left students “pretty shocked.” “It just feels like a repeat, it feels very Covid-esque,” she said.
Helen Whately, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, called the outbreak “a huge shock” and said she had spoken to health secretary Wes Streeting. She has asked the NHS urgently for more information and guidance, citing rumours about where the infected may have picked it up.
Symptoms to watch
UKHSA said anyone with symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia should seek medical help urgently. Those include a rash, sudden fever, severe headaches, a stiff neck, vomiting, joint and muscle pain, sensitivity to bright lights, cold hands and feet, seizures, confusion and extreme sleepiness. Trish Mannes, the agency’s south-east deputy director, warned that students can mistake early signs for a bad cold, flu or even a hangover. Checking on a friend who goes to bed unwell, she said, “could save their life.”
Sources
- Meningitis outbreak at University of Kent and three schools kills two young people with 11 in hospital
- Two dead and 11 seriously ill in meningitis outbreak at University of Kent
