MENINGITIS NIGHTMARE: Is Lockdown 2.0 Coming?

Could meningitis lead to a Covid-grade pandemic?Metrospoke with nearly a dozen health experts to find out.

Are Covid and meningitis similar?

Covid-19 is the name of the disease, not the virus that causes it – SARS-CoV-2.

The respiratory virus, which looks like balls covered in knobbly spikes, is spread when people talk, breathe, cough or sneeze.

Similarly, meningitis doesn’t refer to the bacteria that causes it, called Neisseria meningitidis. Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

The similarities, end there, says Dr Eliza Gil, clinical lecturer at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

‘MenB is a very different type of infection from Covid,’ she explains.

For one, Neisseria meningitidis, also called meningococcus, is transmitted through prolonged, very close contact,’ says Dr Gil. Think very typical nightclub activities like kissing, singing or sharing drinks

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, says that sharing vapes could be another way bacteria are getting around.

Still, he stresses that Neisseria meningitidis has a harder time sickening people than SARS-CoV-2 does.

‘Most people who carry the bacteria never become ill,’ Dr Clarke adds, of the one in 10 who have it lurking in the back of their throats without showing any symptoms.

‘We know what we have to do’

Another key difference is treatment. For a time, the coronavirus was a new disease for which we had no vaccine, so no one was immune.

Health officials and medical workers alike had to fill in the gaps by looking at other coronaviruses, like the one that causes the common cold.

As Professor Johnjoe McFadden, an expert in molecular genetics at the University of Surrey, says: ‘Unlike when Covid first appeared, we have antibiotics and vaccines to limit the spread of the infection.’

In other words, from the get-go, we have a large portion of the population already immune to meningitis and scientists know what they’re up against.

Since 2015, the MenB vaccine has been offered to babies at eight weeks, with a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at one year.

Experts previously warnedMetro, however, that this means anyone born before 2015 is not immune. Other than a small portion of students who may have bought the shots privately at supermarket pharmacies.

It’s easy to think that the first port of call would be to offer students the jabs.

Instead, students were offered antibiotics, which kill bacteria, says Mark Fielder, a professor of medical microbiology at Kingston University London.

‘The antibiotics being given to the patients will start killing the meningococcal organisms in the patient (should there be any) within hours,’ he says.

‘This is why the antibiotics have been given first to attempt to kill any target bacteria present and then this is followed up by the vaccine to help the patient develop an appropriate immune response that will protect going forward.’

Four centres with a total of 11,000 doses of antibiotics have been opened in the Canterbury area to treat people who may have been exposed.

The UK Health Security Agency announced today that students will be offered the MenB jab from today.

‘This is an incident in one place linked to a local nightclub,’ says Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School.

‘We know what we have to do and we are doing this.’

So, could meningitis cause a lockdown?

Every expertMetrospoke with said a lockdown, whether Canterbury-wide or nationwide, is unlikely.

People outside of Kent don’t have to worry too much, they stress. As the illness spreads through close contact, outbreaks tend to be local.

Andrew Lee, a professor of public health at the University of Sheffield, says that any new cases may have no connection to the Canterbury outbreak.

MenB is a family of strains of the germ and can be found up and down the UK already.

‘You can imagine how people may erroneously think a MenB case happening, say in Manchester, is linked to Kent just simply because MenB is mentioned,’ he says.

The immediate public health advice to Kent students is simple: get antibiotics.

This especially includes those on campus who are thinking of returning home, as many have already, or leaving the city for Easter.

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, says: ‘While students in Kent should follow specific advice, there is no reason for students in the affected area who are well to avoid travelling home for Easter.

‘If students feel unwell, they should seek medical advice immediately, and avoid making close contact with others, particularly more vulnerable people such as young children or people with underlying illnesses, which can affect their resilience to disease.

‘This is not currently a situation that requires anything approaching the restrictions we saw during Covid. Meningococcal disease is serious, but there is no evidence that it presents a pandemic-scale threat.’

University of Kent is a ‘ghost town’ amid outbreak

Metroheard yesterday from University of Kent students who have fled home amid the deadly outbreak.

Many queued up that morning not to attend a society social or the student union, but for life-saving antibiotics and face masks.

Some have holed themselves up in their dorms in fear of spreading the contagion, as others suffer ‘flashbacks to Covid-19’ and have crucial exams cancelled at the last minute.

Matthew McKeague, 18, a military history student at the University, said: ‘It’s just a ghost town here now. This is just unheard of.

‘Most people have left university a week early but I have my essays this week and it’s easier to do my research here, so I’m staying on.

‘I’m a commuter, so arguably, it’s even more important to take antibiotics so I don’t risk spreading it further.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this,check our news page.