Number of cases in UK meningitis outbreak rises to 34 as students queue for third day for vaccines

Students queued on Friday to get vaccinations (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The number of cases linked to the meningitis outbreak in Kent has risen to 34, up from 29 previously, as hundreds of students queued for a third day to get vaccinated.

Some 23 cases have been confirmed alongside a further 11 cases that “remain under investigation”, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in an update on Saturday morning.

The latest figures come as more than 400 people, students and others eligible, lined up outside the University of Kent campus clinic for meningitis jabs at the start of the weekend.

Juliette Kenny, who died in the outbreak, with her family Michael, Rebecca and Florence Kenny (Family Handout/PA)

NHS Kent and Medway said 5,794 vaccines had been administered, and 11,010 antibiotics handed out, in Kent as of Friday evening.

There are currently six clinics across the county providing antibiotics and vaccines for eligible people.

Two students have died in the outbreak. They are 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, who was described by her family as “fit, healthy and strong” before her death, and a University of Kent student.