Tributes have been paid to a sixth-former confirmed as the second person to have died after an outbreak of meningitis in Kent.
The sixth-form student was named as Juliette by teachers at Queen Elizabeth’s grammar school (QEGS) in Faversham, who described her as a kind and intelligent young woman.
“It is with great sadness that we are confirming the loss of Juliette, a much-loved and treasured member of our school community. Juliette was a student at our school for seven years. She was incredibly kind, thoughtful and intelligent and she loved our school and was very happy here,” said the headteacher, Amelia McIlroy.
“Juliette embraced everything that school had to offer with great enthusiasm and joy and her humour and positivity were captivating. She was a genuinely caring and attentive listener, a true friend who listened with warmth, respect and sincere interest to her peers and to our staff.
“In short, she was a lovely girl – her beautiful smile, her loving nature and her sense of fun will be hugely missed. We are all devastated. Our love and thoughts are with her family and friends at this terribly sad time.”
Over the weekend it was reported that a University of Kent student was one of two people to have died after contracting the disease, while 11 more people were seriously ill in hospital.
Long queues of students – many wearing face masks – were building at the institution’s Canterbury campus on Monday morning, as they awaited antibiotics. Many turned up after being approached directly by the UKHSA because of possible contact with infected people. Others are thought to have arrived after calling 111.
Teaching has finished at the university for this term and exams are under way. All assessments due to take place this week will be moved online, affecting about 1,700 students, but the campus remains open. “It’s not a Covid lockdown situation,” a spokesperson said. “There are still staff and students around. It’s quieter because teaching has finished anyway.”
Kirab Rhoda, 18, a law and criminology student from Uganda, said her mother had offered to book her a flight home after the news of the meningitis outbreak, but she was feeling reassured by the university handing out medicine.
“I feel reassured because the school cares, I feel [it’s] safer than not any action taking place. This is really assuring to all students,” she said.
Law student Millie Inglis, 21, said she got a message to collect antibiotics, adding: “We were just pretty shocked. It just feels like a repeat, it feels very Covid-esque. As long as everyone’s alright, though, I guess that’s all that matters really. We’re just making sure that it doesn’t get any worse.”
On Monday, Helen Whately, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, said: “The meningitis outbreak in our area is a huge shock. Feeling so deeply sad for the young lives lost – a year 13 pupil at QEGS and a uni of Kent student. My heart goes out to their families.”
In a post on Facebook, she added: “It’s incredibly worrying too for the families of the young people in hospital, and others at risk. I am asking the NHS urgently for more information and guidance, especially given the rumours going round about where they may have picked it up.”
Whately said she had spoken to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and was expecting to hear from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Monday morning.
The UKHSA said it had been notified between Friday and Sunday of 13 cases of people with signs and symptoms of meningitis. Some students at the University of Kent have been given antibiotics while others are in hospital. The specific strain of meningitis has not yet been identified.
“We can confirm that UKHSA has worked with the University of Kent to provide advice letters to all 16,000 students, advising on recent cases, signs and symptoms, how to obtain antibiotics, and what to do if they feel unwell,” a UKHSA spokesperson said. Not all students were to be given antibiotics, only those regarded as close contacts of those affected.
Louise Jones-Roberts, the owner of the Club Chemistry venue in Canterbury, said she had been contacted by the agency.
“We have been told somebody was in our club at the weekend who has since been diagnosed with meningitis. They have asked us if we have any methods for tracing who has been in to us.
“We have an ID scanner but that is more of a security measure … It takes pictures of some driving licences, ID cards and on so on. We’ve got tickets for events so we could trace ticket holders, but most people pay on the door.”
She said her thoughts were with the families of those affected by the outbreak. “I’m devastated. I can’t imagine what the families are going through. Our thoughts are with the families. Meningitis affects healthy, young people and this is devastating.”
Meningococcal bacteria can cause serious illness, including inflammation of the lining of the brain and blood poisoning, which can rapidly lead to sepsis.
Anyone can get meningitis but it is most common in babies, children, teenagers and young adults.
The UKHSA said anyone with meningitis and septicaemia symptoms should seek medical help urgently. Symptoms include a rash, sudden fever, severe headaches, a stiff neck, vomiting and diarrhoea, joint and muscle pain, sensitivity to bright lights, cold hands and feet, seizures, confusion and extreme sleepiness.
