Meningitis outbreak passes peak, says health agency

The peak of a fatal meningitis outbreak, thought to have originated in a Canterbury nightclub, has passed according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

A total of 29 confirmed or suspected cases of meningitis have been linked to the Kent outbreak, which has killed two people.

Trish Mannes, the agency's regional deputy director for the South East, told BBC Radio Kent that "this peak has passed, absolutely".

"We could still see cases continuing to come in, we need to keep an eye on those. We need to really understand exactly what happens a bit more before we can be too optimistic about this," Mannes said.

The UKHSA count of confirmed cases dropped on Sunday from 23 to 20 and suspected cases were reduced from 11 to nine after further testing.

Authorities said on Monday that there had been no change to the figures.

Two people have died following the outbreak, an 18-year-old sixth former, Juliette Kenny, from Faversham and an unnamed University of Kent student aged 21.

Kate Bradley, a lecturer at the University of Kent, said it had been a really difficult week for students.

It was already a "nerve-wracking" time because students had assessments, but the outbreak had "tipped everything upside down".

She said: "Some of them are grieving. They've got friends who are in hospital. They are worried about their own health."

Abbie Lebbie, who was queuing for a vaccine at the University of Kent on Monday morning, said the situation was less stressful than before.

"I feel quite relaxed," she told the BBC.

"Cases have dropped and people are doing as much as they can to put procedures in place."

Josh Collumbell says the more people who get the jab the more it helps everyone else.

He said the deaths of the young people from meningitis had been a "huge shock".

Four clinics offering offering antibiotics and vaccines to eligible people have reopened on Monday as part of the UKHSA's response to the outbreak.

More than 10,000 people have received jabs and about 13,000 people have been given preventative antibiotics,according to the NHS.

The clinics are located at the University of Kent's sports centre, Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury, Vicarage Lane Clinic in Ashford, and Faversham Health Centre.

Mannes said keeping vaccination centres open was "under daily review".

The UKHSA was "hopeful" the the number of people to come forward would be "sufficient to contain the spread from this particular incident", Mannes told the BBC.

She said authorities were "just seeing cases from that initial event" at the Club Chemistry nightclub, which remains closed, so far.

Eligible University of Kent students who returned home after the spring term ended on Friday can access the vaccination and antibiotics from their local GP, according to the UKHSA.

On Sunday Health Secretary Wes Streeting praised the "Herculean efforts" of people working to "care for those affected and keep people safe".

The strain linked to the outbreak is Meningitis B (MenB). Routine vaccinations against the strain only began to be rolled out in 2015, meaning the current generation of students and others in their late teens are not protected.

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