Health officials are racing to curb a deadly meningitis outbreak, tracing and treating thousands of potential contacts as reports of suspected cases spread.
The unprecedented emergency response saw 2,000 worried students receive preventative antibiotics in Canterbury yesterday as the ‘invasive’ strain of the disease left two dead and 11 gravely ill.
One university student and an 18-year-old grammar school pupil have died after being diagnosed, while some of those in hospital have been put into induced comas.
Two other schools outside Canterbury each confirmed a year 13 pupil had been diagnosed with the disease following the outbreak, sparking concerns around how far it could spread – with one woman from London potentially developing symptoms.
Meningitis is contracted through close contact, and microbiology experts have since confirmed that the outbreak in Kent is of the serious bacterial form of the disease.
The ACWY-135 vaccination protects against meningitis and is given to 13 to 14-year-olds. Vaccination rates among students are at about 73 per cent.
Infectious disease experts believe the outbreak is ‘unusual’ and may be linked to a combination of lower vaccination rates since the Covid pandemic and a ‘new strain with different behaviours’.
Last night, the first victim was named as 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, who died on Saturday surrounded by her family.
Her father, Michael, told the BBC the family were ‘beyond devastated and they have no words to express their loss’.
Her heartbroken grandmother Linda Kenny told the Daily Mail: ‘I just can’t bring myself to say anything otherwise I will cry. We are all on antibiotics because we were with Juliette in hospital when she passed away.’
Juliette Kenny, 18, died on Saturday surrounded by her family after falling victim to the deadly bug which has swept through several towns in Kent
Juliette (centre) lived in nearby Whitstable with her father Michael, 46, mother Rebecca, 49, and older sister Florence, 20
Health teams are still scrambling to identify and alert those who encountered the infected after tracing their whereabouts from club nights to house parties and university halls to secondary schools and sixth forms.
Officials are expanding the large-scale mass treatment as they appealed for potentially thousands of revellers to come forward after the source of the outbreak was tracked to a nightclub in Canterbury.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) urged anyone who visited Club Chemistry in the city centre on March 5, 6 or 7 to come forward for antibiotics as a ‘precautionary measure’.
More than 2,000 people would likely have attended the club over those dates, its owner said.
It is feared the spread of the disease, the specific strain of which is yet to be identified, may have been hastened by vape sharing among youngsters.
Josh Risby, 26, told KentOnline his London-based sister has been admitted to hospital with meningitis symptoms despite not being a student at the university.
The siblings saw each other on Mother’s Day and Josh, who works in Aylesham, does not believe his sister attended the Canterbury nightclub over the weekend.
The UKHSA was alerted to a ‘cluster of cases’ in the area on Saturday night and announced on Sunday it would be arranging antibiotics for some students in the area.
The agency said it acted ‘immediately’ after questions were raised over why it took almost another 24 hours to inform the public.
Officials highlighted that thousands of university students would have likely returned home for Mother’s Day on Sunday and unwittingly passed on the disease to their families before being informed of the outbreak.
Club Chemistry in Canterbury which has been linked to the meningitis outbreak
Keeleigh Goodwin, 21, has been diagnosed with meningitis after attending an event at Club Chemistry earlier this month
Keeleigh, who lives in a house-share in Canterbury, has been diagnosed wtih meningitis B and is currently in hospital
Casey Marlow, 19, was rushed to hospital a few days after her and her friends spent the evening at Club Chemistry
Casey’s mother Emma Marlow said her daughter should make a full recovery with antibiotics
One former health official accused the UKHSA of failing to act quick enough and claimed it had not ‘learned from the (Covid) pandemic’.
‘They will have focused too much on discussing the science of the disease and not given much thought to how real people actually behave,’ he told The Telegraph.
‘It probably didn’t occur to them that hundreds of students were flocking home last weekend to see family for Mother’s Day. As a result, they didn’t act quickly enough.’
A parent from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, where Juliette attended, also criticised health bosses for their lack of urgency.
She said: ‘Reading between the lines, it sounds like the school was unimpressed that the UKHSA hadn’t been in contact by Sunday evening, when a pupil had already died.
‘I think parents and the school had a right to know as soon as there were cases. Maybe the outbreak could have been halted sooner.’
Rosie Duffield, Independent MP for Canterbury, said she has received a briefing from the UKHSA, which is stressing that meningitis needs ‘fairly intimate contact’ to spread between people. She said people could contact her office if they were worried.
The first fatality was a student who lived on Kent University campus, followed by Juliette, who attended the grammar school in Faversham ten miles away.
Reports of suspected cases – with at least one victim said to be in a coma – have spread as far as Whitstable on the coast and across the commuter town of Ashford.
It is believed registered nurses in the area have been called in to help with the large-scale operation amid fears medics will have to draw on national reserves of antibiotics if it is not contained soon.
In scenes reminiscent of the Covid pandemic, masked students joined long queues, some ranging from 400 to 500 strong at peak times, at Kent University’s Senate building yesterday to receive treatment.
Staff and students, some wearing face masks, queue to receive antibiotics at the University of Kent in Canterbury
A member of staff hands out face masks to people queueing for antibiotics at the University of Kent on Monday
Students queuing for antibiotics outside a University of Kent building in Canterbury today
Trish Mannes, UKHSA regional deputy director for the South East, said: ‘Our investigations have identified that some cases visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury and it is important that anyone who visited the club between March 5 and 7 now comes forward for preventive antibiotic treatment as a precaution, as well as those offered antibiotics at the university – these students are being contacted directly through the university.’
Louise Jones-Roberts, the club’s owner, said officials had contacted her in their efforts to trace anyone potentially exposed to the disease. The 1,600-capacity venue hoped ticket sales and its ID scanner that takes pictures of driving licences could help identify those who were there.
Ms Jones-Roberts said: ‘I’ve been told they started showing symptoms on March 10. I wouldn’t have opened this weekend if I’d known, but I didn’t know. I’m worried about another potential outbreak from this weekend.’
Two girls who were said to have attended the club and were sharing vapes with each other were reported to have developed suspected cases of meningitis.
And there were reports of a boy, thought to be aged around 17, being left in a coma after attending a house party in Whitstable on Saturday.
Matthew, 16, and Luca McDonagh, 17, said someone from their friendship circle was already in an induced coma after recently contracting meningitis.
Luca, who is in Year 13 at Simon Langton Grammar School, in Canterbury, said no one in his year group at school is allowed to go in for lessons. He and his brother, at the same school, were told to go to the University of Kent for a precautionary antibiotic.
Among those also attending the party was Jude File, 15, who told the Daily Mail: ‘Everyone’s a bit freaked out. What’s worrying is how quickly this is spreading and it doesn’t seem to be isolated.’
Of the party, he added: ‘We got the bus to Whitstable from Canterbury and there were Kent University students on there, so I wonder if that was the source?’
Jude attended the university campus to receive preventive treatment yesterday, adding: ‘I had to say who I had been in contact with at the party. It’s just prevention but best be safe than sorry.’
His father Dan File, from Folkestone, added: ‘It’s very concerning. We went to the university to get the antibiotics after we learned a friend of a friend was in an induced coma.’
Headmistress Amelia Milroy of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Faversham makes a statement about her student Juliette who died from meningitis in the outbreak in Kent
Students wearing face masks walk through the University of Kent campus in Canterbury
Matthew (left), 16, and Luca McDonagh (right), 17, in the queue for antibiotics at the University of Kent in Canterbury on Monday
Health inspectors going into Tyler Block at the University of Kent in Canterbury on Sunday night
Two more schools were also put on alert yesterday, with a Year 13 pupil at Norton Knatchbull School in Ashford being admitted to hospital with a suspected case.
Simon Langton Grammar School in Canterbury was closed to all Year 13 pupils while several local events, including a St Patrick’s Day rave, were cancelled.
At Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, headmistress Amelia McIlroy fought back tears as she said: ‘Juliette was a student at our school for seven years. She was incredibly kind, thoughtful and intelligent.’
Students from the University of Kent’s Turing block described how medics in hazmat suits and paramedics descended on the campus on Sunday. Meanwhile a second block, thought to be Tyler Court, is also said to be affected.
The university, which said it was ‘deeply saddened’ at the death of one of its students, has moved exams and classes online as a result of the outbreak.
Those who attended Club Chemistry can collect antibiotics from: the Gate Clinic at Kent and Canterbury Hospital; Westgate Hall on Westgate Hall Road, Canterbury; the Carey Building, Thanet Hub, Margate Northwood Road; and the Senate building at the University of Kent.
Additional reporting: Neil Sears and Shaun Wooller