Health chiefs say they have never seen such a rapid spread of cases of meningitis, blaming a “super-spreader” event for the surge in numbers.
Susan Hopkins, chief executive of the the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said it was the highest number of cases she had seen in one weekend with this type of infection.
England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Thomas Waite said: “This is by far the quickest-growing outbreak I’ve ever seen in my career.”
Five schools in Kent have had meningitis cases, and one patient who travelled to London is now in hospital there, the Department for Health and Social Care said.
Some 15 cases of meningitis have been recorded, including two people who died. Others were being treated in hospital.
The number of cases is expected to rise because the incubation period – between infection and when symptoms appear – is two to 14 days.
Pharmacists are warning of a surge in demand for the MenB vaccine. The UKHSA has announced a targeted vaccination programme for students at the University of Kent in Canterbury, and 700 doses of antibiotics have been given out.
The strain in some cases was confirmed as Meningitis B.
