Found an error?
Report now
People queue to receive antibiotics as a precaution.
dpa
Two young people have already died and now hundreds of people in the UK are receiving antibiotics as a precautionary measure. There is great concern about further cases.
Following two deaths from meningitis, hundreds of people in the county of Kent in southern England are being treated with antibiotics as a precautionary measure. Long queues formed outside the dispensing points. It was initially unclear how many people in total were to be given antibiotics as a precaution against the bacteria. In the past few days, a pupil and a student from Canterbury have died and others are being treated in hospital.
The cases were caused by subgroup B meningococcus, as confirmed by the PA news agency on Tuesday. These are bacteria that can cause severe meningitis and blood poisoning (sepsis). The disease can progress very quickly. According to the meningitis guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic treatment should therefore be started immediately if there is a well-founded clinical suspicion of meningococcal disease.
The bacteria are transmitted by droplet infection - coughing, sneezing, kissing. The first signs of infection are often flu-like - fever, headache, nausea, chills, fatigue. Severe cases can lead to septic shock, organ failure and brain damage. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin, the fatality rate is 7 to 15 percent and many survivors suffer from severe long-term consequences.
In February, there was also a case of meningitis in Switzerland. A recruit at the barracks in Emmen LU was hospitalized due to a meningitis infection. A further 120 recruits were not allowed to go on weekend leave as a precautionary measure. Around 60 cases of severe bacterial meningitis occur in Switzerland every year, according to the army.
17.03.2026, 15:47
