Scientists discover why Kent meningitis outbreak was so severe
Young people can book to get their Men B vaccine at high street pharmacies across England. There are walk-in appointments too, external. Two doses offer the best protection. First doses are available until 31 December 2026, with second doses available until 31 March 2027. Dr Charlene Rodrigues, consultant in Pathogen Genomics at UKHSA, said: “This…
Young people can book to get their Men B vaccine at high street pharmacies across England. There are walk-in appointments too, external.
Two doses offer the best protection. First doses are available until 31 December 2026, with second doses available until 31 March 2027.
Dr Charlene Rodrigues, consultant in Pathogen Genomics at UKHSA, said: “This investigation shows just how quickly and dramatically these bacteria can change.
“The fact this outbreak variant was able to spread to so many young people was due to the social environment, a place where lots of close social mixing takes place.”
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, she said bacteria are known to undergo changes like this, known as horizontal gene transfer.
Such changes can make infections more severe, and may mean they get past the immune system because people haven’t encountered them before.
These events, while rare and unpredictable, could happen again, so experts “should not take their eye off the ball”, she added.
Scientists say speed and severity of the Kent outbreak was very unusual. It was described as “unprecedented” and “explosive” at the time, with so many infections happening in one place and over a very short period.
Two people died – a 21-year-old University of Kent student and Juliette Kenny, a sixth-form pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham.
The outbreak is thought to have started in a nightclub called Club Chemistry in the city centre, which was popular with university students.
It’s likely one person brought the infection in with them, and then it spread that evening.
Meningitis is passed through close contact – including kissing and sharing drinks or vapes.
