Kent's director of public health, Dr Anjan Ghosh, has stated that health bosses cannot yet confirm whether a deadly meningitis outbreak has been contained.
An urgent public health alert was issued after 20 suspected cases were investigated by the UK Health Security Agency, including two people who had died, according to a report by the BBC.
The outbreak is believed to have originated at a Canterbury nightclub, where two staff members have also contracted the disease, but remain stable in hospital.
Police Response and Timeline
The UK Health Security Agency has issued an alert urging health workers to look out for signs of infection, and a vaccination programme targeting about 5,000 students has begun at the University of Kent.
UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said the agency is trying to work out why the infection spread so fast in Canterbury, and vaccines held by the government will be used for NHS patients, including students in Kent.
Investigation and Response
A case has been confirmed at Canterbury Christ Church University, and the university's vice-chancellor and principal, Prof Rama Thirunamachandran, said the UKHSA had confirmed a case of meningococcal disease involving a student.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the outbreak was not national, but the response was being managed nationally, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said health experts were working to identify close contacts, distribute antibiotics, and begin targeted vaccinations.
Vaccination Efforts
On Wednesday, 600 vaccines were administered to students on the University of Kent campus, with a secondary dose to be given in a minimum of four weeks' time, and more than 8,400 precautionary antibiotics have been given out.
GPs across the country have been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone who visited the nightclub from 5 to 7 March, plus students from the University of Kent, and the UKHSA said antibiotics remained the most effective treatment.
