There is a race against time in the UK to prevent a wider spread of the serious meningitis outbreak reported in southern England, particularly around Canterbury, between the University of Kent campus and three local schools.

The death toll currently stands at two, a 21-year-old university student and a 13-year-old schoolgirl (not 18, as initially reported), in addition to at least 11 other young people hospitalized in serious condition.

While the university and the schools involved have suspended most of their activities, hundreds of girls and boys continue to queue for the precautionary distribution of antibiotics , and tens of thousands of people across the county are being contacted by the National Health Service (NHS) to be informed or invited to undergo preventive testing.

The rare strain of the bacterium that triggered the infections, initially considered unknown, has been identified in the last few hours by British specialists: it is called MenB (or Meningitis-B).

Meanwhile, alarm remains high, against the backdrop of fears that the infection could spread further in the area and perhaps branch out elsewhere in the UK : spread - in the absence of effective prophylaxis - by out-of-town students who have to travel from Kent in view of the upcoming Easter holidays.

The UK Health Security Agency, the public body responsible for monitoring health safety on the island, denied any delays or underestimations, noting that the first cases were recorded between Saturday and Sunday and that the alert was issued immediately.

(Unioneonline/vl)