Five Questions That Still Need Answering About The Meningitis Outbreak

This week has shown really utterly devastating and shocking meningitis tin be.

One time you tin beryllium incredibly fresh and patient pinch nan world astatine your feet. Twenty-four hours later you tin beryllium successful intensive attraction arsenic germs invade nan lining of your encephalon and poison your blood.

Bacterial meningitis has go uncommon successful nan UK, but occasionally location are mini clusters reported.

In this instance, nan first lawsuit was reported to nan UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) connected 13 March and nationalist warnings came retired 2 days later, connected Sunday night.

The size and velocity of nan outbreak, which has now affected 29 people, sidesplitting 2 of them, has been labelled "unprecedented".

After a week of reporting connected nan events, these are immoderate of nan questions I americium still asking.

There were only 2 caller cases reported connected Friday - that does not mean we are past nan highest of infections and location are apt to beryllium much cases successful nan days to come.

But this is being seen arsenic an encouraging sign.

The commencement of nan outbreak was a super-spreader arena - erstwhile an unusually ample number of group are infected - astatine nan nightclub Club Chemistry successful Canterbury betwixt 5 March and 7 March.

The incubation period, nan clip betwixt infection and getting symptoms, is thought to beryllium up to 10 days.

It intends that, hopefully, location will not beryllium galore much cases linked to those nights successful nan club.

Around 10,000 group person been fixed antibiotics arsenic portion of nan response, which should clear meningitis germs and extremity those group becoming sick aliases spreading it further.

Will we commencement to spot grounds nan efforts to incorporate nan dispersed are working, moreover though nan agelong incubation play intends it will return immoderate clip earlier anyone will state this is over?

Will it dispersed beyond Kent?

So acold nan confirmed and suspected cases each person a nonstop relationship to Kent.

However, we person heard from immoderate students who near assemblage to spell location erstwhile nan news broke.

It is imaginable that personification has nan germs surviving harmlessly successful their nose, but has travelled elsewhere successful nan state wherever they could walk it connected to group they travel into adjacent interaction with.

A immense tracing effort is underway and 10,000 imaginable adjacent contacts person been identified.

Any caller cases extracurricular of Kent must not beryllium confused pinch those unrelated to nan outbreak, arsenic location is astir 1 lawsuit per time of invasive bacterial meningitis.

Should each teenagers beryllium fixed nan vaccine?

This has been successful nan minds of parents up and down nan country.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has asked nan government's vaccine advisors to look again astatine nan evidence.

There has ne'er been an statement astir whether nan vaccine useful - it does - it is astir whether it is considered costs effective and a bully usage of NHS money.

It is simply a mathematical calculation that feels acold and distant from nan symptom felt by families devastated by meningitis.

The meningitis B (MenB) vaccine is costly - astir £220 if you salary for it privately. 

When nan Joint Committee connected Vaccination and Immunisation looked astatine nan grounds complete a decade agone it concluded nan MenB vaccine was costs effective successful nan astir astatine consequence group - babies and toddlers - but not successful teenagers and young adults.

Will thing alteration successful this review?

That will yet travel down to whether nan maths has shifted and whether thing astir nan unprecedented quality of this activity successful cases alters nan calculations.

Has nan bacterium go much dangerous?

An first familial study of nan bacterium causing nan outbreak was concluded connected Thursday.

It showed nan germs are akin to ones that person been circulating successful nan UK since 2021 and that nan vaccine should connection protection against it.

But much elaborate study now needs to return place. Small mutations tin person a large effect connected nan behaviour of nan bacterium.

Experts will beryllium moving to found whether thing has changed that whitethorn make it much apt to dispersed aliases amended capable to invade nan assemblage aliases to get into encephalon tissues than different strains.

What other could person triggered specified a accelerated outbreak?

Does nan mentation for its standard and velocity dishonesty solely successful nan bacterium itself aliases did different factors play a role?

There has been a batch of chatter astir sharing vapes successful a packed nightclub. It is unhygienic, but location is nary definitive impervious it is responsible and is hardly different behaviour.

Did Covid lockdowns mean existent teenagers and students person been exposed to less meningococcal germs (remember up to 25% of group successful this property group person them harmlessly astatine nan backmost of nan chemoreceptor aliases throat) successful their lives, truthful had little immunity?

It has besides been pointed retired to maine that a unreality of particulate was swept up from nan Saharan godforsaken and blown complete Europe and nan UK pinch dates that lucifer nan commencement of nan outbreak.

That benignant of particulate is known to irritate nan airways making it easier for germs to spell from harmlessly sitting location to invading nan body. It is besides responsible for nan Meningitis Belt crossed Africa.

Are immoderate of these a factor? Or could it beryllium that location is nary 1 azygous reason, but tons of mini things added together?