Four sites have been opened up in Kent for people affected by the meningitis outbreak to get antibiotic treatment.

Senate Building, Westgate Hall, Gate Clinic and Carey Building Thanet Hub are all locations where people can get hold of the medicine.

The map also shows Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys and Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, where there were confirmed cases of meningitis. Highworth Grammar School and the Norton Knatchbull School have suspected cases of the disease.

Helen Catt
Political Editor, BBC South East

Image source, PA Media

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader has described the outbreak of meningitis in Kent as “really, really troubling”.

Speaking to BBC South East while on a visit to Godstone in Surrey, she says her “heart goes out” to the families of those people who have lost their lives.

Badenoch says that a student died from meningitis when she was at university, which came as “a huge shock”, so she thinks the outbreak must be “deeply tragic and disturbing for so many of the people that are affected."

She adds: “My plea is for people to check themselves as soon as they have the slightest symptoms and also for everyone to make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations.”

A 65-year-old who is planning to visit Canterbury has asked whether they are safe to visit the area.

Dr Nighat advises people to take precautions such as using hand sanitisers, washing hands and wearing face masks.

The doctor says those who receive a booster for MenB are expected to be protected from the disease for life.

A single dose of the vaccine also gives protection, she adds, saying that it ensures the infection does not cause severe harm but that people may still "feel poorly".

James Munroe in Glasgow is a mature student who asks how to go about getting the vaccine.

Health correspondent Nick Triggle says chemists are experiencing high demand for the vaccines and he has heard of some having to hold back stocks of the jab to support the vaccination programme for University of Kent students.

Many people are ringing pharmacies wanting to get it privately he says, at a cost of a couple of hundred pounds.

Rachel paid privately for her daughter - born in 2014 - to be vaccinated against MenB. If the efficacy of the jabs drops over times, she asks whether she should pay for a booster now that she is 11.

Dr Nighat says if she hasn't had her booster as a baby (initial jab recommended after eight weeks, and booster four weeks later) then it would be recommended.

She says vaccines only work if there are enough people around who also have it, and she advises having a discussion with your own practice nurse, who can advise on the specificity for you.

Image source, BBC Sport

Matt, 25, says he mistakenly believed he was vaccinated when he contracted Meningitis B at university. He asks what more can be done to raise awareness about it, why the vaccine isn't offered to more people.

It's "really confusing" for people to understand which vaccines they've had, says Vinny Smith, chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation. He recommends checking with your GP what's on your vaccine record.

While he understands the government has to "make decisions about investment in the NHS" based on evidence of the impact of the disease, Smith says he thinks "unfortunately for this cohort" of young people and teenagers, the framework right now "isn't helping them make a decision" to prevent meningitis.

They're a "highly at risk group", he says.

He says his organisation is "delighted" that the health secretary is asking for a review on the availability of vaccines because the incident this week is "in some ways its very predictable, it's just not predictable where, when or how many people".

"That will continue until we have a national MenB vaccination programme," he says.

A first-year undergraduate student has asked if he should seek a MenB vaccination due to his weakened immune system.

The student added that he was born in 2006, meaning he is not included in the cohort entitled to NHS vaccinations against the bacteria.

Vinny Smith says that the "best way" to be protected through the current infection is through vaccination, while also welcoming Wes Streeting's calls for the JCVI to look at the evidence for MenB vaccine uptake among the group that is at risk.

Dr Nighat is also asked if children should receive booster vaccines after already being vaccinated years earlier, to which she responds by saying people are generally protected against infection if they received the vaccine and booster as a baby.

She says: "Vaccines work really well if we're getting lots of other individuals vaccinated."

Dr Nighat Arif is asked how meningitis spreads. She says it spreads "pretty ... similar" to Covid.

So the ways to tackle this, she says, are washing your hands, wearing masks, ventilating the rooms by opening windows and doors.

"All those lessons that we learnt back in Covid, I'm afraid they come back. If you're poorly then try to self isolate as much as possible." She says to watch people around to see if they are "behaving differently" and "just think, could this be meningitis?" Then, she says, seek help early.

Update 16:45: The UKHSA has issued advice on the symptoms of meningitis, how it is spread and vaccines to help protect against it, which you can read here., external

A spokesperson says: "Transmission of MenB requires close and prolonged contact to spread including living in the same household and intimate contact such as kissing.

"The bacteria are not as contagious as other infections such as measles and Covid. Therefore face masks are not considered an effective measure in controlling meningococcal disease outbreaks.

"If you or someone you know becomes unwell and are worried about meningitis or septicaemia, seek medical help urgently by going to the nearest Accident and Emergency department or calling 999. If a friend goes to bed unwell, check on them regularly. Early treatment can be lifesaving."

A team of experts and correspondents are answering your questions on the meningitis outbreak in Kent. As a reminder, you can watch live at the top of this page.

Meningitis can affect the whole body, says Dr Nighat Arif, who is a GP.

You get infection around the meninges - protective membranes around the spinal cord and brain - and infected inflammation can then go out into the blood stream and cause something called septicaemia, she explains.

This can cause "a range of symptoms" from fever, headache, stomach cramps, as well as "a change of behaviour" like sleepiness or confusion, she says.

Symptoms are similar to flu, and can be "hard to distinguish until it becomes quite sinister", she says. At this point, people often get a rash that doesn't disappear when pressed with a glass tumbler. Arif adds that for people with brown or black skin, its best to check hands, the soles of the feet or inside their mouth as its harder to detect the rash.

Vinny Smith, chief executive of the Meningitis Research Foundation, says that he will "always advise people to trust their instincts" when something doesn't feel right.

"If this is going seriously badly wrong really quickly, that's a good indicator" of meningitis too, he adds.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Do I have to pay for the meningitis vaccine?

Two vaccines protect against the main causes of meningitis and septicaemia.

• The MenACWY vaccine offers protection against four types of bacteria that can cause meningitis - meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y - and is offered to teenagers aged 14 years old. People born on or after 1 July 2015 should have been offered it
• The MenB vaccine helps protect against meningococcal group B bacteria and is recommended for babies aged eight weeks, followed by a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at one year

Contact your GP to find out which vaccines you've already received if you're not sure, or look at your red book which records the vaccines you've had.

The MenACWY vaccine is free for anyone who missed out at school until your 25th birthday.

There have been calls for the MenB vaccine to be offered more widely to protect teenagers and young people, but the NHS does not currently offer a catch up campaign for MenB.

Some parents have paid private doctors to get the vaccine for teenagers. High street pharmacies offer a full course of two doses for around £220.

Q: Now we know the strain, and that I probably haven’t been vaccinated against it, should I be seeking the MenB vaccination?

A little earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a targeted vaccination programme for students living in halls at the University of Kent in Canterbury in the coming days.

UKHSA confirmed it is being carried out "given the severity of the situation" but the programme may be expanded as it continues to asses any "ongoing risk to other populations".

If this does not apply to you, you may be eligible in other ways:

Since 2015, babies have been given vaccinations on the NHS for Meningitis B, or MenB - which is the strain identified in the Kent outbreak.

The vaccine is recommended for babies aged eight weeks. It's followed up with a second dose at 12 weeks, then a booster when they turn one.

It protects against the most common, but not all, group B bacteria.

Long-term health conditions

People with certain long-term health conditions are also recommended to get the MenB vaccine, and can be referred on the NHS by their GP.

This includes people with no spleen, sickle cell anaemia, coeliac disease or complement disorders (an immune disorder), according to Meningitis Now.

Can I pay for a vaccine?

The MenB vaccine is available through pharmacies, travel clinics and private GP practices.

The cost varies from place to place, but Meningitis Now says to expect to pay at least £110 for the two doses required.

Caitlin Doherty
Live reporter

Throughout the day you have been sending in your questions about the meningitis outbreak in Kent.

So far today, we've covered how pharmacies are responding to the surge in requests for vaccines, and have spoken to students in Kent about how they're feeling about the outbreak.

We've also brought you updates from the government about how public health officials will deal with the spread of MenB - Health Secretary Wes Streeting earlier announced the start of a targeted vaccine programme and that antibiotics being distributed widely.

But questions are still circulating about how this is being managed, and we're endeavouring to answer your questions.

Our digital health team has been taking a look through them and we'll share their answers in this page.

From 15:30, the BBC's health correspondent Nick Triggle will be answering your questions. You can watch live at the top of this page.

Amish Patel is a pharmacist from Kent. He has been speaking to the BBC about the recent boom in vaccine requests - and the difficulty he's having finding them.

"We've seen a huge increase in inquiries for the meningitis vaccine, from having maybe one or two calls a week at best to now 10-15 calls in a day," he says.

"It's a huge, huge increase. Currently we have no stock of meningitis vaccines left and the bigger problem is we can't also order any more.

"All the wholesalers are also showing no stock and to add further on to that, we don't know when stock is coming back in.

"At the moment, it's a case of just keep on refreshing our order pages and seeing if stock is back available."

This afternoon, health secretary Wes Streeting announced in the Commons that the government will begin a "targeted" vaccination programme for students living in halls at the University of Kent.

He says the UKHSA will provide further advice on other cohorts, also in the coming days.

Image source, Cyrstal MacPherson

A University of Kent student tells the BBC she is not planning to go out for a while following a meningitis outbreak.

Crystal MacPherson, who studies film, says she ordered masks when she found out a fellow student had died from the illness on Sunday.

"I would rather stay at home," she says, adding that she has plans to isolate with her sister who is also a student at the university if things get worse.

"People have died - it is quite crazy".

MacPherson says it is her birthday next week, though she worries she may not be able to go out and celebrate.

"I hope with antibiotics everything gets nipped in the bud," says the 21-year-old.

University of Kent student Isabel Kenny has been telling us what the last 48 hours have felt like.

She says yesterday was “really anxious”, explaining: “I didn’t really sleep, it was the first thing I thought about when I got up. In the back of my head I’m nervous that I’ll see that more people have gone to hospital. Hopefully not.”

She was invited to get antibiotics yesterday and went straight away: “I did have to queue for quite a bit… everyone was wearing masks, everyone was social distancing - it was a really strange day yesterday.”

With today’s confirmation that the outbreak is the Group B strain, Isabelle says she and her friends suddenly realised they weren’t protected.

She says she’s now planning to keep things low‑key for a bit: “I’m kind of hoping to isolate a little bit now, stay away from public spaces and I’m also going to wait a little bit before I go home.”

Asked whether she feels the outbreak could have been flagged sooner, she says she didn’t hear rumours beforehand but isn’t sure how earlier awareness would have changed her experience.

“You don’t really want people to be scared and stuff getting out too soon, but I don’t really know how I feel about it - I think I would have been just as nervous either way.”

Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier today, Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam from the UK Health Security Agency told BBC Radio 5 Live that sharing vapes could be one of the ways that meningitis-causing bacteria had spread in the outbreak in Kent.

A number of health experts have also come forward to advise young people not to share their vapes.

For the infection to spread, it needs very close contact with another person. Anything where saliva is shared, such as kissing, sharing a drink or cup, coughing or sneezing close to someone else would count.

It makes sense that using a friend's vape or sharing it around several people would have the same effect. Sharing a cigarette (and the saliva on it) would present the same issue.

Many young people carry the bacteria in the nose or throat without getting ill or developing any symptoms - but when students are mixing really closely and intimately in large numbers at universities, that's when the bacteria can spread more easily.

Many online vape retailers warn that sharing vapes is not recommended because of the chances of passing on colds, flus, sores, bacteria and other skin infections.

Vicky Castle
BBC News

A fourth Kent school has confirmed it is linked to the outbreak.

Highworth Grammar School said in a statement: "We are sad to report we have a Year 13 student who has been admitted to hospital with a suspected case of meningitis.

"Our thoughts are with them and their family who, at this stage, are waiting for a confirmed diagnosis.

"We are supporting all our students regarding this update, taking specific precautionary measures on hygiene and sharing key information regularly with the school community.

"We are in contact with the UK Health Security Agency and will be monitoring the health and wellbeing of all our students very carefully.

"We also extend our deepest sympathy to everyone who has been affected by the tragic loss of two students in our local area."

Pharmacies are seeing a surge in demand for private meningitis B vaccinations as concern rises over the Kent outbreak.

Superdrug says bookings for its meningitis service are now 65 times higher than they were this time last week.

The MenB jab is usually part of the infant vaccination schedule introduced in 2015, meaning most older teens and students won’t have had it unless they paid privately.

A number of high street pharmacies offer the vaccine:

• Superdrug provides it for children from two months and adults up to 50, at £110 per dose.
• Boots offers two doses for £220, for adults and children aged two and over.
• Well Pharmacy also provides it for two‑month‑olds up to adults aged 50, at £110 a dose.
• Asda has a full MenB course for £179.76.

Availability varies - some pharmacies still have slots today, but no appointments are currently available at Boots in Canterbury.

Experts are stressing that even with this surge in interest, antibiotics remain the immediate priority for anyone exposed in the current outbreak.

They warn the jab takes time to work, and UKHSA is still confirming whether the specific MenB strain involved is one that the vaccine protects against.

Image source, EPA

Just before Streeting addressed the Commons, we heard from a spokesperson for the prime minister.

Downing Street says Prime Minister Keir Starmer has full confidence in the UK Health Security Agency amid claims it acted too slowly during to address Kent's MenB outbreak.

The prime minister’s official spokesman has said the UKHSA was first alerted to a “cluster of cases” late on Saturday and “acted immediately”, contacting those at risk throughout Saturday evening and Sunday.

He said the agency responds as soon as hospitals notify them of clinically suspected cases, adding: “Once patterns became clearer, UKHSA moved quickly to identify contacts and put precautionary measures in place, including offering antibiotics, which are an extremely effective treatment for bacterial meningitis.

"This is exactly how public health systems are designed to work - acting on evidence, not speculation.”

The spokesman has noted there can be a short gap between a patient being admitted and the formal notification that allows UKHSA to begin public health action.

Asked directly whether the PM believes the agency acted quickly enough, the spokesman replied: “Yes.”

Image source, UK Parliament

The government will begin a targeted vaccination programme for students living in halls at the University of Kent in Canterbury in the coming days, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told MPs at the House of Commons.

Streeting shared his condolences about the "unprecedented outbreak" which has killed two young people. He confirmed that as of 09:30 today there were four cases of MenB and another 11 cases under investigation. The UKHSA will publish figures of relating to the outbreak each day at 09:30.

He says the majority of cases link back to the Club Chemistry nightclub, in particular those who attended on 5, 6 and 7 March. The health agency was notified of the first case on 13 March, Streeting said.

French authorities alerted UKHSA to a confirmed case in France on Saturday from an individual who had attended the University of Kent, Streeting added.

On access to antibiotics, Streeting says health officials have administered 700 doses so far.

Streeting also confirmed that he was not advising school closures, as the disease spreads through "close personal contact," which includes kissing, sharing vapes, sharing drinks.

"The general risk is low," he told MPs, saying that "people shouldn't be unnecessarily worried or anxious".

Image source, House of Commons

Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield says that the constituency is "completely devastated".

She says she's getting a lot of questions about school attendance, and asks Streeting if people should be going to school.

Medics on the frontline in Canterbury are reporting being overwhelmed with requests for antibiotics, Duffield says, asking for clarity on when constituents should go to those clinics.

Streeting says he is "not advising school closures".

He says he wants to reiterate how the disease is transmitted, which is through "close personal contact... kissing, sharing vapes - which I am concerned about in the context of young people".

"But the general risk is low", he says, and he doesn't want people to be "unnecessarily worried or anxious".