'Lucky to live' meningitis patient shares warning

A former student who is "lucky to be alive" after contracting meningitis said she had "never really heard" of the disease before being struck down by it.

Ella Moulsdale, from Gloucester, was in her first year at Bath Spa University in 2021, when she was rushed to hospital in the back of an out-of-hours doctor's car because the "ambulance wait was too long".

Diagnosed with meningococcal B septicaemia, she is now urging people to be aware of "what to look out for" following an outbreak of the illness which has left two people dead in Kent.

She said: "I was deteriorating pretty rapidly. If it had been left any longer, it would have been a very different story."

Live: Five new cases of meningitis are found in Kent, the UK Health Security Agency confirms

The symptoms of meningitis include a high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, confusion, vomiting and headaches.

Moulsdale said she felt tired and "really sick" with a headache but was too ill to notice the "classic" meningitis rash of spots.

"My ears felt like I was in a tin can," she said.

"I couldn't hear anything and I had double vision."

It was two days before one of her friends realised how serious it was and phoned NHS 111 who advised her to see an out-of-hours doctor.

"I was stumbling all over the place, I looked drunk and out of it," she said.

"[The doctor] instantly thought it was meningitis - and took me straight to hospital. The ambulance wait was too long, so they took me in the doctor's car."

She spent nine days in hospital battling sepsis and thinking she "could die" and said she is still living with the consequences of having the illness.

"I've lost hearing in my right ear and my memory isn't as good as it was, or my concentration," she said.

"My balance is affected by my hearing, and I get vertigo as well - where I wake up and the room's spinning."

She said of all the students living in the three flats surrounding hers at the time, only one person "knew what meningitis was".

"People need to be aware of what to look out for and they need to act fast, because that can save a life," she said.

"That probably did save my life, thanks to my friends and the doctor that saw me."

Since the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed meningitis B was behind 13 cases in the Canterbury area, universities across the region have been offering guidance to their students

The University of Bath has urged its staff to "keep an eye out for symptoms in students" as they are "particularly at risk" of confusing them with a bad cold, flu or "even a hangover".

Bristol's University of the West of England (UWE), said it was advising students on symptoms as per UKHSA guidance while Bath Spa University said it has a "robust response protocol in place should a case arise".

The University of Gloucestershire said it issues symptoms cards to "new students" while the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester has urged students to "remain vigilant" for both themselves and their friends.

Stroud-based charity Meningitis Now, said it was essential people make themselves aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis.

Chief executive Tom Nutt, said: "The outbreak in Canterbury is shocking.

"We haven't seen this type of outbreak for many years."

He said there are "gaps in the NHS immunisation schedule" but "in the long-run" the NHS has been "very successful in bringing down the number of cases of meningitis in the UK".

He added: "Despite what has happened in Kent, we would like to reiterate that meningitis is a relatively rare disease."

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