Vaccine rollout begins as meningitis cases rise to 20 amid outbreak

Students have begun to receive a meningitis B vaccine as the “unprecedented” outbreak spreads to a second university.

The rollout of the vaccine to about 5,000 students in halls at the University of Kent began on Wednesday, following an outbreak thought to have originated at a nightclub in Canterbury.

The rollout of a meningitis B vaccine to about 5,000 students has begun (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

However, Canterbury Christ Church University has confirmed a meningitis case among its students, meaning confirmed or suspected cases have now been reported at two universities and five schools.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a public health alert, with health workers across England urged to look out for signs and symptoms of the infection.

The alert said the illness being seen “has been severe with rapid deterioration”, and urges staff to take infection control measures in the period before patients are put on antibiotics, such as face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE).

Students wait in line to get a vaccine at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

The number of cases has risen to 20 as five more cases were reported to the UKHSA on Wednesday, with two deaths, a 21-year-old university student and Juliette, a sixth former at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham.

Nine of the cases have been confirmed in the lab and 11 remain under investigation, while six of the confirmed cases have been confirmed as the meningitis B strain.

GPs across the country have also now been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury from March 5-7, plus students from the University of Kent, with more than 2,500 doses being handed out so far.

The Chemistry night club in Canterbury which is linked to the meningitis outbreak (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said the outbreak looks like “a super-spreader event, with ongoing spread within the halls of residence in the universities”.

She added that vaccines held by the government would be used for NHS patients, including students in Kent, but it would not rule out supplying some to pharmacies.

The UKHSA confirmed that all reported cases so far have a link to Kent.

The agency added that at least one person who fell ill attended a hospital in London, but had no “community contacts” in the capital.

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