No New Meningitis Cases Reported in Kent
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Monday morning that there have been no new cases of meningitis linked to the outbreak in Kent since 20 cases were confirmed on Sunday.
As of 12:30 pm on Sunday, 20 cases had been confirmed, with an additional nine cases under investigation. This represented no change from the previous day, according to a UKHSA statement released Monday morning.
The update follows comments from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who commended the "Herculean efforts" made to protect the public. Officials had previously warned on Friday about the possibility of "sporadic" household clusters emerging in other parts of the country.
Following further testing of samples, the total number of cases was revised downward from 34 on Saturday.
East Kent Colleges (EKC) Group issued a letter to all parents and carers on Friday, informing them that a college student was being treated for a suspected meningitis case. The letter was subsequently published on the group's website on Sunday.
Streeting expressed his condolences to the families of the two students who died and extended his thoughts to those currently hospitalized with the illness.
"It has been an incredibly difficult week for those affected and for those working on the frontline response to this outbreak," Streeting said in a Sunday statement.
"As we look ahead to another challenging week, I wanted to pay tribute to the Herculean efforts of everyone who has worked tirelessly to care for those affected and keep people safe."
He also thanked UKHSA officials and healthcare teams, along with school, college, and university staff, as well as the "thousands of students, pupils and other members of the public who have so readily and responsibly come forward for antibiotics and vaccination."
Since the vaccination rollout began on Wednesday, dozens of eligible individuals, including students, have queued across the county to receive the MenB vaccine or antibiotics, although the number of people in lines has decreased significantly.
The two students who died include an 18-year-old described by her family as "fit, healthy and strong" prior to her passing, and a University of Kent student.
