A total of 15 cases of meningitis have now been notified to the UK Health Security Agency, with four cases seen in Kent confirmed as meningitis B. All cases have required hospital admission, and two young people have died.
With parental concerns mounting, as the majority of young people born before 2015 are not protected against meningitis B unless they have had the jab privately, The Independent has spoken to clinical microbiologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Eliza Gil, for her professional input on symptoms, vaccines, and how to contain the spread.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has stated the meningitis outbreak was “unprecedented in terms of the pace and extent of the outbreak that we’ve seen”.
Watch the full interview above.