Meningitis outbreak

[Flipitoff]

I’m freaking out a bit

DD has been here all day after travelling from uni yesterday. Her housemate is really poorly and now I’ve just seen the news about the meningitis outbreak at her uni.

Her housemate is in the house on her own now - I’ve told DD to call the uni and let them know. Worried that DD has been here with us all day in case she gets sick

The overall cluster has risen this morning from 27 to 29, though (because of switching between the suspected and confirmed groups) the number of newly confirmed cases is 3.

There was a men b outbreak when I was at uni in the late 90s. I’m pretty sure vaping wasn’t around then.

There have always been outbreaks, but clusters have typically been in numbers you could count on one hand. What people are trying to work out is what is different now, to have a cluster of 29 and counting.

The UKHSA has now published the genetic analysis of the cluster strain, so that any lab in the world can investigate it to see if there are any clues.

There are always minor outbreaks. Have been for years and years. That isn’t new. It’s the severity of this one that’s different.

No but smoking was. I don’t understand what’s so hard to grasp. Meningitis has alway been around. We always have outbreaks and people die every year yes.

This is the worst outbreak for quite some time. They don’t know why it seems to have spread more easily within this club. Vaping is implicated as is kissing and sharing drinks.

When smoking inside was banned meningitis rates went down. Why don’t people want to accept that vapes are a key form of transmission when all the experts are saying it to be so? It’s bizarre.

WHO on transmission
<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20260127011255/www.who.int/teams/health-product-policy-and-standards/standards-and-specifications/norms-and-standards/vaccine-standardization/meningococcal-meningitis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20260127011255/www.who.int/teams/health-product-policy-and-standards/standards-and-specifications/norms-and-standards/vaccine-standardization/meningococcal-meningitis

Just hearing the father of the girl who very sadly died and how quickly it happened it is worth keeping this in the headlines until the cluster is over.

If there are symptoms parents need to act quickly and know what to look for.

Yes, "Meningococcus is transmitted by aerosol or direct contact with respiratory secretions of patients or healthy human carriers" so personally I think the dust and hayfever from local environmental aspects has made this a bigger issue than usual cases. Imagine a superspreader with hayfever and everyone they sneeze on has raw nasal passages due to the dust cloud.

Also thinking back, I think that was the week when there were 8 road closures/road works going on (so the city traffic was at a standstill daily to the point the local paper reported on it). Add that car pollution to the dust and hayfever...respiratory issues are surely more likely to impact locally.

They are not the same girl, he did not say he was anywhere near the poor girl who died he is talking about another girl

Well, I heard back from my Boots branch that cancelled. The Area Manager has confirmed that they will not be running a Wait List- or Waiting List!-😈, of those they cancelled on and I was just directed to join the ridiculous “Waiting List” on the Boots website. Quite how that is going to work… all you can do is provide First/Last name and email, and you’ll get notified when in stock. No branch to nominate. I did say that I’d heard the Aberdeen Branch was running one.. got a slight pause.. but then am emphatic “ Nope, sorry”…., 🤔😾!

Students travel all over, though, that’s the scary thing. Anyone who has caught it and is asymptomatic could travel home for Easter and pass it on once there.

Ps- @DeftWasp.. I think I may have missed a funny slight….🤷‍♀️🙄😹?!

It wasn't me who suggested they were the same girl, I said very unlikely.

I'm sure everyone would agree that it's best not to speculate about the poor girl who passed away and whether she transmitted anything to anyone. Imagine her grieving family googling her name and stumbling upon online speculations about who she kissed or whether she spread the disease. They are in enough pain as it is. I reported that post but Mumsnet hasn't deleted it and obviously doesn't care about the girl's dignity or the family's mental health.

I'm sure lots will accuse me of policing the thread, I don't care, it's just not on.

Exactly - I was talking about a guy who was there on a completely different night and caught it, or passed it on whichever way it was, by way of saying there isn't just the 3 initial days spreading. The news is now agreeing and saying 5th to 15th rather than 5th to 8th.

My dc schools have sent Public Health information home today.
It says that Infections that cause meningitis can be spread through, sneezing, coughing, and kissing.

No mention of vapes, strangely. Perhaps listing vapes would lead some parents to think, 'not my child,' making them less vigilant?

No one has ever suggested they were the same girl, the boy kissed a random girl, the question was over the dates. I said the random girl he kissed on the13th could have been at the club the previous weekend contracted it then, carried it and passed it on on the 13th. No one actually knows of course it was just speculation however that has nothing to do with the poor girl who died and I know it was not her, you said it’s unlikely because she was unwell on that date.

AND doctors - and not just assume that because they are students they must be drunk or on drugs and therefore fob them off.

It really is. Men B was feared when I was at university in the early 90s - well before vaping! Even then there were awareness campaigns about it.

All the staff at our local Specsacers-15 miles from Canterbury-are wearing masks.

Have just returned from town and actually didn't see a single face mask today, which compared to Wednesday is a big difference. Town very quiet for 6pm on a Friday, other than the usual raucous mob outside McDonalds.

None here but it’s not close to the area. If there’s no secondary infections it’ll pass pretty quickly.

Aerosol does not mean airborne. Aerosol refers to the bacteria being ejected during a cough or a sneeze. Airborne means that the infective agent usually a virus is suspended in the air long enough for someone to inhale it. It depends on the size of the virus/bacteria. Bacteria are too heavy to float in the air and drop onto surfaces rapidly thereby contaminating the surface.
Someone having a coughing or sneezing fit in a crowded area would spread it around generously. Even if the covered their face with their hand they could easily shake someone’s hand and pass on the bacteria.
Transmission is complicated and often confusing. But hand hygiene is likely to be more effective than anything in stopping spread along with avoiding putting a potentially contaminated hand in your mouth.
Mask wearing actually provides a physical barrier discouraging you from touching your nose or mouth. And as long as you wash your hands prior to removing the mask it may help.
Along with vaping, sharing lipstick and lipgloss could be a source.