Meningitis B latest: Urgent public health alert issued as health chief warns cases may continue to rise – UK Times

It cannot yet be confirmed that the deadly outbreak of meningitis in Kent has been contained, the county’s director of public health has said.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether the outbreak had been contained, Dr Anjan Ghosh, of Kent County Council, said: “We’re not in the position yet to say that definitively, that it’s been contained.

“If you see the daily reporting that’s going on, there are more and more cases being reported, but these cases all relate more or less to that same period of time when the initial exposure happened.

“We are looking at what’s called secondary transmission, so that’s a case that’s then transmitted to another couple of people. We need to rule that out before we can say it’s definitely contained.”

The Kent outbreak of meningitis is “unusual”, a consultant virologist has said, as he highlighted that vaccines offered will “take time to work”.

Dr Chris Smith told BBC Breakfast that many people can test positive for bacteria that are linked to meningitis, but usually only a small number of people become infected.

He said: “What’s unusual about this case is we’ve gone from something which we know happens but doesn’t normally translate into severe clinical disease, suddenly, with one event, translating into a lot of people who’ve developed the invasive infection.

“That’s what that genetic sequence that will currently be going on, looking at what’s the code behind this bacterium, what’s in that that might endow it with these additional superpowers that’s turned it into this more invasive form of meningitis?”

He added: “Vaccines do take time to work, though it takes two or three weeks to get some protection, and two or three months to get full protection, and it will only last about two or three years.

“So, we don’t use that vaccine routinely in this older group who are less vulnerable to problems with meningitis B, but in this case they are using it as a sort of ring of vaccination to curtail further spread through that community for those people who might be at risk of developing or coming into contact with the infection in the next few weeks.

“But it wouldn’t be a general principle for the population, because the vaccine isn’t agile enough to work against that.”

The chief scientific officer for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said the bacteria which can cause meningitis can be transmitted by sharing utensils, cups and vapes.

Professor Robin May told BBC Breakfast: “This is a bacteria that is actually quite widespread.

“So, a large number of us carry this, about 10% of people my age, slightly higher in younger people, carry this bacteria at the back of their throat anyway, and obviously the vast majority of us don’t have any problem with disease, but in some cases it can cause severe disease.

“It is transmitted by this relatively close contact. So, it’s transmitted by things like saliva and kissing in particular, but also sharing of utensils, sharing of cups or vapes, or those kind of things.”

He added: “Although it’s in the throat, it is not, for example, like Covid or flu. It’s not a respiratory disease in the sense of spreading very easily through the air.

“It does not survive very long on surfaces. So, people do not need to be concerned about things like public transport, for instance, where you know potentially you might come into contact with somebody with that in your train carriage or your bus.

“But unless you’re in quite close contact for an extended period of time with them, you are not at risk from them.”

The number of confirmed cases of meningitis in the Kent outbreak is likely to increase, the chief scientific officer of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Professor Robin May said: “We confirmed yesterday 20 cases, so far. We have several other cases under investigation. That number will be updated later when we know a bit more about that.

“I would say in outbreaks like this, you would typically expect a small increase in numbers still to go, so I suspect that number will go up slightly.”

He described the outbreak, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, as “very unusual”.

“So, typically, you would expect to see sporadic cases of meningitis, typically individual patients,” Prof May said.

“Most days, actually, we would see one in the UK. This is obviously a much larger number. What is particularly remarkable about this case, and unexpected about this case, is the large number of cases all originating from what seems to be a single event.

“There are two possible reasons for that. One is that there might be something about the kind of behaviours that individual people are doing.”

He added: “The other possibility is the bacteria itself may have evolved to be better at transmitting.”

Pharmaceutical giant GSK is talking to UK authorities about a targeted vaccination plan to help address the outbreak, according to a source.

Lilith Whittles, an assistant professor at the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London, said there was an effective vaccine against MenB, reducing risk by around 70%-85% against vaccine-preventable strains.

“Targeted vaccination with 4CMenB is being offered as part of the outbreak response to help reduce further cases. However, vaccine protection is not immediate: it typically takes around one to two weeks for immune responses to develop,” she said.

“In the meantime, offering preventative antibiotics to those who may have been exposed remains essential.”

Experts say they are dealing with a “super-spreader” event and that many of those affected attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury over 5-7 March.

The infection has also spread through the halls of residence at the university and parties attended by students.

UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said: “There will have been some parties particularly around this, so there will have been lots of social mixing.

“I can’t yet say where the initial infection came from, how it’s got into this cohort, and why it’s created such an explosive amount of infections.”

She said that in her 35 years of working in medicine, healthcare and hospitals, it was the highest number of cases she had seen in a single weekend with this type of infection.

“It’s the explosive nature that is unprecedented here,” she said.

Meningococcal disease is caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria. Although many people can carry the bacteria harmlessly in their nose or throat, very occasionally it invades the bloodstream or central nervous system and causes life-threatening illness. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.

Meningococcal disease spreads through close contact with respiratory droplets. This could be through kissing, sharing drinks or utensils, and coughing and sneezing. This is what makes the risk higher in settings where people live, study and socialise closely together, such as university campuses.

Outbreaks such as the recent one in Kent, especially in communal settings like universities or schools, are less common than individual sporadic cases. While the overall risk remains low, the proportion of cases among young adults and students is higher than in older age groups simply because of the social mixing and living arrangements typical of school and university life.

Health experts say if you notice a friend showing any concerning signs – especially rapid worsening over hours – take them seriously and seek medical help immediately.

In the UK, that means contacting NHS 111 for advice or calling 999 if they are seriously unwell.

Check on your friend regularly, don’t dismiss symptoms as “just a hangover” and err on the side of urgency when in doubt. Early treatment with antibiotics can be lifesaving.