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Britain’s Prime Minister Kier Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on July 16, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON:
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday led urgent calls for young people who visited a nightclub at the centre of a deadly meningitis outbreak to come forward, as the number of cases rose.
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.
