WATCH: Kent students receive meningitis B vaccines on fourth day of rolloutKent students continue to receive vaccines despite falling cases
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 18:10
Unwitting students recall partying at ‘super spreader’ event
Unwitting students partied at a British icons themed night at the Canterbury nightclub which has been described as a “super spreader” event.
Hundreds celebrated, including many in fancy dress, at the event at Club Chemistry on 5 March. The venue closed voluntarily on 15 March following news of the meningitis outbreak.
Belle Hamilton, a first-year physiotherapist at neighbouring Canterbury Christ Church University, told the Sunday Times: “It was the best night of clubbing we’ve had at uni.”
Others recounted widespread vaping, drink-sharing and embracing.
Mia Russell, 20, said she and her friends went there “most weeks” and had been in attendance on both 7 and 14 March.
She told the Sunday Telegraph that the three-storey club had been busy on both nights she attended, with people packed into its small smoking area.
Experts suggest that the ‘peak’ of the ‘superspreader event’ at Club Chemistry has passed (PA Wire)
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 17:10
Update: More than 9000 vaccines administered
More than 9,078 meningitis B vaccines had been administered as of Saturday evening while 12,595 antibiotics had been handed out, NHS Kent and Medway said.
Dr Sherine Thomas, infectious diseases consultant at the UKHSA, said: “It’s reassuring to have seen so many eligible young people come forward for antibiotics and vaccination, and we’d like to thank everyone involved in this effort so far.”
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 16:40
University tries to reassure staff, students and parents
At Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), which announced one confirmed case of meningitis on Wednesday, held an information session to reassure its staff, according to reports.
Many had been missing from work following the outbreak, with the University and College Union telling its members it would support them if they wanted to work remotely.
Prof Rama Thirunamachandran, the university’s vice-chancellor, said the dean of its medical school led an information session for staff on Thursday morning. Only 75 turned up in person to the information session and 750 joined at home. Afterwards, many returned to in-person teaching.
“It’s a completely natural instinct, having gone through Covid, to feel anxious about this outbreak,” he told The Observer. “It’s incumbent on leaders like me, as well as politicians and public health officials, to explain why it is different.”
He said that, unlike Covid, meningitis is a bacterial infection, not a fast-spreading virus, and is passed on through droplets via close contact such as kissing, rather than in the air.
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 16:10
Recap: Meningitis cases have fallen to 29
The number of cases of meningitis linked to an outbreak in Kent have fallen as a campaign to vaccinate thousands of young people continued into a fourth day.
Confirmed cases have fallen from 23 to 20, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in an update on Sunday morning, after they were downgraded following further testing.
Meanwhile, suspected cases under investigation have also fallen from 11 to nine, meaning the total number of cases is 29, down from 34 on Saturday.
Nineteen of the 20 confirmed cases are meningitis B and all cases have required hospital admission.
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 15:40
Pictured: Fourth day of meningitis B vaccine rollout
Students receiving vaccines and antibiotics from medical staff in the sports hall at the University of Kent (Stanley Murphy-Johns/PA Wire)
People queuing to receive vaccines and antibiotics at Vicarage Lane Clinic, Ashford, on Sunday (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
The University of Kent is using the sports hall into a vaccine centre (Stanley Murphy-Johns/PA Wire)
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 15:10
People can deteriorate from meningitis in ‘hours, not days’
Experts say the speed of the response meningitis cases and the wider outbreak is crucial.
“It’s one of the few diseases where we don’t encourage doctors to delay antibiotics while they take samples,” Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, told the Sunday Times.
“As soon as you suspect it, you whack in the penicillin, because it is hours, not days, that people can deteriorate.”
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 14:40
Meningitis: Key symptoms to look out for
Health officials have said they are “remaining vigilant” a week after the Kent meningitis outbreak began. The warned it is “really important that people know the symptoms of invasive meningococcal disease”.
Some key symptoms of meningitis and sepsis, according to the NHS, include:
High temperature Vomiting Confusion Muscle and joint pain Pale, mottled or blotchy skin Spots or a rash Headache Stiff neck Sensitivity to bright lights Being very sleepy or difficult to wake Fits (seizures)
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 14:10
Towie star Jordan Brook battling viral meningitis
Jordan Brook has revealed he is battling viral meningitis and encephalitis in an update from his hospital bed.
‘The Only Way is Essex’ star’s case is not connected to the outbreak of meningitis in Kent.
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 13:40
WATCH: ‘Sporadic’ meningitis clusters could spread outside Kent
Kent County Council’s director of public health, Dr Anjan Ghosh, warned on Friday that “small household, sporadic clusters” could appear in other parts of the UK as students who have travelled away from Kent “incubate” the bug.
But he said these would be “containable” and stressed the risk of infection between individuals is low.
Dr Ghosh said it was the “most likely” scenario but outlined two other possibilities: the outbreak remaining contained in Kent, and the “worst-case scenario” – which he said is “highly unlikely” – of another cluster outside Kent.
Meningitis: ‘Sporadic’ household clusters could appear elsewhere in UK
Amy-Clare Martin22 March 2026 13:10