The UK Health Security Agency has confirmed that deadly meningitis B strain is responsible for the outbreak in Kent.
According to Gayatri Amirthalingam, the deputy director of immunisation and vaccine preventable diseases at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), tests showed it was the bacterial strain B of the disease.
Unfortunately, among all the meningitis strains, MenB is the least targeted one as the most people have not been vaccinated against.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, she said, “We are able to say this morning that we have now identified from some of the testing that it seems to be the group B meningococcal strain that is causing the outbreak in Kent.”
In the UK, the teenagers who are born before 2015 have not received a vaccine against meningitis B.
The NHS recommends the MenB vaccine only for babies as the vaccine was introduced in 2015. But many teenagers have not received it unless they have had the jab privately.
“We have a meningococcal vaccine covering four different strains in teenagers. Usually it is given at the age of 13 or 14 years of age. It covers four main groups A, C, W and Y,” Amirthalingam added.
Among all the strains, MenB is the most common in the UK, responsible for 80 percent of invasive infections. Group B bacteria include many different forms of meningococcal B bacteria.
The vaccines given to the babies are only effective against the common but not all group B bacteria.
Amirthalingam also advised the young people in Kent to take antibiotics as a precautionary measure and stay at home in order to protect themselves.
In a recent meningitis outbreak in Kent, two young people have died and 11 others have been admitted in hospital in critical condition.
What is meningitis B?
Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis group B (MenB) is a serious bacterial infection that causes inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.
It can be caused either by viruses or by certain bacteria. Bacterial meningitis is rare but more fatal than viruses. The infection affects babies, children, teenagers and young adults more commonly.
The symptoms of MenB infection include: high fever, stiff neck, photosensitivity, severe headaches, vomiting, drowsiness, and seizures.
