Five questions that still need answering about the mening...

What’s Happening

Here’s the thing: The size and speed of the outbreak which has now affected 34 people, killing two of them, has been labelled “unprecedented”.

Five questions that still need answering about the meningitis outbreak 1 day ago Save James Gallagher Health and science correspondent Save Reuters The governments vaccine advisors have been asked to look into whether teenagers should be given the MenB jab This week has shown how utterly devastating and shocking meningitis can be. One day you can be insanely fit and healthy with the world at your feet. (we’re not making this up)

Twenty-four hours later you can be in intensive care as bacteria invade the lining of your brain and poison your blood.

The Details

Bacterial meningitis has become rare in the UK, but occasionally there are small clusters reported. In this instance, the first case was reported to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on 13 March and public warnings came out two days later, on Sunday night.

The size and speed of the outbreak, which has now affected 34 people, killing two of them, has been labelled “unprecedented”. After a week of reporting on the events, these are some of the questions I am still asking.

Why This Matters

There were only two new cases reported on Friday - that does not mean we are past the peak of infections and there are likely to be more cases in the days to come. But this is being seen as an encouraging sign. The start of the outbreak was a super-spreader event - when an unusually large number of people are infected - at the nightclub Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 March and 7 March.

Medical professionals are taking note of this development.

Key Takeaways

• The incubation period, the time between infection and getting symptoms, is thought to be up to 10 days.
• It means that, hopefully, there will not be many more cases linked to those nights in the club.

The Bottom Line

Around 10,000 people have been given antibiotics as part of the response, which should clear meningitis bacteria and stop those people becoming sick or spreading it further. Will we start to see evidence the efforts to contain the spread are working, even though the long incubation period means it will take some time before anyone will declare this is over?

Thoughts? Drop them below.