American Marconi Wireless News - UK PM leads efforts to halt deadly meningitis spread

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 condition, Starmer said.

He asked "anyone who attended Club Chemistry on March, 5, 6th or 7th to come forward, please, to receive antibiotics".

All the cases linked back to that nightclub in the university city, Health Minister Wes Streeting said earlier.

The number of cases being probed by UK authorities rose in the past 24 hours from 15 to 20.

Those who died have been identified as a 21-year-old university student and an 18-year-old school student.

The focus of public health measures so far has been the University of Kent in Canterbury, which has around 18,000 students, some of whom are among those hospitalised.

One of the cases involved a patient who had been living in Kent, but who was taken ill in London, amid fears the disease could spread as students head home for their Easter vacation.

Meningitis is a potentially deadly infection affecting the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It is most common in young children, teenagers and young adults.

It can progress rapidly and is spread through prolonged close contact, including kissing or the sharing of vapes or drinks.

"As of 5 pm on 17 March, nine laboratory cases are confirmed and 11 notifications remain under investigation," bringing the total to 20, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement, an increase of five.

Students at the university have been queueing this week for preventative antibiotics with four centres open in Canterbury.

A targeted meningitis B vaccination programme was also due to begin, authorities said, with the jab initially being offered to 5,000 University of Kent students living on campus.

The programme could be extended, the UKHSA added.

- 'Halt the spread' -

Initial symptoms of meningitis include headache, fever, drowsiness and a stiff neck -- but those signs can be vague, hampering prompt diagnosis.

Six of the confirmed cases are of group B meningococcal disease, according to the UKHSA.

The bacterial strain is rarer and deadlier than the viral type.

Family doctors nationwide have been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone attending their surgeries who visited Club Chemistry between March 5-7 and to University of Kent students "if they have been asked to seek preventative treatment".

"This is so that anyone who has travelled home, or away from Kent, can easily access this important preventative treatment close to them," the UKHSA said.

The agency said it was also investigating the case of a baby with confirmed meningococcal group B infection, but who was apparently not linked to the outbreak.

The baby girl is reportedly in hospital in nearby Folkestone.

Children in Britain are usually routinely vaccinated against meningitis B with three doses given at eight and 12 weeks and one year.

Another vaccination targeting meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y is offered to children aged 14.

S.F.Warren--AMWN