Reassurance given that Kent meningitis outbreak may be contained – NI minister

Some reassurance has been given that the meningitis outbreak in the south of England may be able to be contained, Stormont’s health minister Mike Nesbitt has said.

He said the Department of Health was working to find out how many students may be coming back to Northern Ireland from England for the Easter holidays.

Two students have died following the meningitis outbreak in Kent and 20 laboratory cases had been confirmed, with a further two under investigation.

All patients in the outbreak have required hospital admission, and nine were admitted to the intensive care unit.

No new cases have been reported in recent days, however.

Mr Nesbitt was asked by SDLP MLA Colin McGrath if additional measures had been put in place to prepare for a possible meningitis outbreak, considering students may be travelling back from England.

Mr Nesbitt told the health committee that there was a four-nations call last week where the outbreak was discussed.

He added: “The UK Health Security Agency gave some reassurances in terms of the containment of this outbreak, which, as you know, is in the south of England, and came specifically at this Club Chemistry nightclub.

“There is a reasonable degree of assurance that they think they will be able to contain it there, we are trying to ascertain the small number of students from here who will be coming back for the Easter holidays.

“We’ve been assured that one pupil of an East Belfast school who had meningitis did not have meningococcal meningitis, and in fact, that’s part of just the normal run of meningitis.

“I think there’s an average of one a day across the United Kingdom.

“We have vaccinations in sufficient supply, and the vaccination does apply, it does work with this strand of meningitis.

“So we are reasonably assured that we are not on the brink of something disastrous.”