Kent meningitis outbreak passed its peak, says UKHSA

The peak of a fatal meningitis outbreak, thought to have originated in a Canterbury nightclub, has passed according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). A total of 29 confirmed or suspected cases of meningitis have been linked to the Kent outbreak, which has killed two people. Trish Mannes, the agency's regional deputy director for the South East, told BBC Radio Kent that "this peak has passed, absolutely". "We could still see cases continuing to come in, we need to keep an eye on those. We need to really understand exactly what happens a bit more before we can be too optimistic about this," Mannes said. The UKHSA count of confirmed cases dropped on Sunday from 23 to 20 and suspected cases were reduced from 11 to nine after further testing. Authorities said on Monday that there had been no change to the figures. Two people have died following the outbreak, an 18-year-old sixth former, Juliette Kenny, from Faversham and an unnamed University of Kent student aged 21. Kate Bradley, a lecturer at the University of Kent, said it had been a really difficult week for students. It was already a "nerve-wracking" time because students had assessments, but the outbreak had "tipped everyt