US EditionA Deadly 'Unprecedented' Meningitis Outbreak in England Is Raising Alarm
UKHSA advises nationwide antibiotics to anyone exposed to the Kent meningitis outbreak, with 20 cases reported and a vaccination planned for 5,000 University of Kent students.
- On Wednesday, the UK Health Security Agency advised GPs nationwide to prescribe antibiotics to anyone who visited Club Chemistry between March 5-7 and to University of Kent students if asked for preventative treatment.
- Health officials traced many infections to Club Chemistry attendances as the number of cases rose to 20 by 5pm on Tuesday, with nine laboratory confirmations and 11 notifications remaining under investigation.
- Trish Mannes, UKHSA regional deputy director for the South East, said "around 2,500 doses of antibiotics have now been administered across sites in Kent," and a targeted menB vaccination programme will initially be offered to up to 5,000 University of Kent students in campus halls.
- The University of Kent contacted around 16,000 staff and students urging at-risk people to take antibiotics without delay, while local treatment centres saw queues including about 40 people at Vicarage Lane Clinic in the first hour after 9am.
- Experts warn the incubation period is two to 14 days so cases may rise; scientists cautioned it is too soon to assess whether the strain is more virulent than others, while UKHSA noted enough vaccine doses exist despite pharmacies reporting private-purchase stock difficulties.
27 Articles
27 Articles
The number of reported cases has increased from 20 to 27. The Minister of Health, Wes Streeting, who described this epidemic as "unprecedented", is expected at a mid-day vaccination centre in Kent.
UK reels from deadly meningitis outbreak
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday led urgent calls for young people who visited a nightclub at the centre of a deadly meningitis outbreak to come forward, as the number of cases rose. Starmer told parliament the outbreak centred on Canterbury, in southeastern England, had left two dead and others were seriously ill in hospital. Health experts were working to identify the close contacts of those who had contracted the life-threatening c…
LONDON (AP) — An outbreak of meningitis in southeastern England resulted in the death of a university student and a student from a nearby school, which led public health authorities to deploy immediate medical interventions. The outbreak, which emerged in Kent County, was described on Wednesday as an unprecedented event by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting, due to the high number of cases that emerged in such a short one. The first case was conf…
Keir Starmer urged on Wednesday those who had attended a discotheque in south-eastern England to show up.
The number of cases of meningitis in Britain under investigation by health authorities has risen to 20, with nine confirmed cases, the health agency said on Monday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged visitors to a nightclub in Kent, the suspected source of the outbreak, to come forward and collect antibiotics.
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