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Scientists Uncover Why Kent Meningitis Outbreak Was So Severe
Confirmed
In Short: Scientists have uncovered why the meningitis B outbreak in Kent, UK, was so severe, according to new research.
The outbreak, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, infected more than 20 young people, mostly students, in March.
Experts say the bacteria responsible for the outbreak underwent a genetic change known as horizontal gene transfer, picking up small pieces of DNA from other bacteria.
This process created a new strain or variant that spread rapidly among clubbers, causing severe illness.
The speed and severity of the outbreak were unusual, with two people dying and nine requiring intensive care.
The meningitis vaccine currently being offered to young people starting university protects against this strain.
Professor Robert Heyderman, an infectious diseases expert at University College London, said the outbreak strain could have been carried by healthy people for some time before conditions were right for it to spread.
Scientists at the UK Health Security Agency and the University of Oxford used bacterial genome sequencing to uncover the bacteria's genetic changes.
These changes may have made the bacteria more severe and less recognizable to the immune system.
The findings highlight the need for scientists to be constantly vigilant for genetic changes that can make bacteria more harmful.
The outbreak has led to a one-off vaccination programme for young people heading to university this autumn.
What's confirmed
- Following the Kent outbreak, a one-off menB vaccination programme was launched to protect young people heading to university this autumn.
- "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.
What's still developing
- Scientists say they have discovered why the bacteria responsible for the UK's worst outbreak of meningitis B in Kent earlier this year proved so dangerous.
- The outbreak is thought to have started in a nightclub called Club Chemistry in the city centre, which was popular with university students.
- Two people died – 18-year-old Juliette Kenny and a University of Kent student – and nine required intensive care treatment.
- 18-year-old Juliette Kenny and a University of Kent student died in March following an outbreak of meningitis B Want LBC stories before everyone else?
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