Meningitis cases rise as vaccine queues continue

The number of confirmed or suspected cases of meningitis in Kent has risen from 29 to 34, the UK Health Security Agency has said.

A total of 23 laboratory cases have been confirmed and 11 notifications remain under investigation, according to the agency.

Hundreds of people have been queuing since early morning for the meningitis vaccine, as a fifth vaccination centre opened in the county.

A total of 7,060 people have received vaccinations since they were introduced on Wednesday, following the recent outbreak, which has left two young people dead.

Anya Trickett arrived at the vaccination centre at the University of Kent at 05:00 GMT and was first in the queue.

She said she was "turned away" from a vaccination clinic at the hospital at 14:00 on Friday.

"I found that ridiculous as it was supposed to be open until 17:00," said Anya.

"So, today I made my way here really early to make sure I got seen."

Maria, 22, who studies drama and theatre, said: "I think all of us are quite worried at the moment, so it's better that we all get it."

Bradley, 20, who studies sport and exercise science, added: "I'm trying to protect myself and people around me.

"I think it's very important that we all get it done as soon as possible."

A fifth vaccination clinic opened its doors for the first time earlier at the QEQM Hospital in Margate.

The four other vaccination centres are at the sports centre at the University of Kent in Canterbury, the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury, Faversham Health Centre and Vicarage Lane Clinic in Ashford.

More than 11,662 people have also been given antibiotics since the outbreak became public knowledge on Sunday.

Prof Shamez Ladhani, from UK Health Security Agency, told the BBC that he was confident the outbreak was being controlled.

He said: "It's actually doing exactly how we would expect these kind of outbreaks to do.

"We're not talking about flu or Covid, where the virus designs itself to be spread through coughing and sneezing.

"The messaging is that the general public is really only at baseline risk."

Juliette Kenny, a sixth form pupil at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham, was one of the two young people to die from the infection last weekend.

The second was an unnamed University of Kent student.

In a letter to students, the university's vice-chancellor said it had been "an incredibly difficult week" for everyone in the university community.

Prof Georgina Randsley de Moura wrote: "My sympathies to everyone, as I know we feel deeply affected by the loss of our student and worry for those in hospital.

"My thoughts remain with those grieving and unwell, and we are grateful to everyone who is caring for them."

She said that she hoped students could take some comfort from the speed and effectiveness of the clinical response, which she described as "incredible".

Four schools in the Canterbury area now have confirmed or suspected cases, after a fifth said their student had tested negative.

The affected schools are Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Faversham, Norton Knatchbull School in Ashford, Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury and the Canterbury Academy.