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  "path": "/health/meningitis-outbreak-kent-preventive-antibiotics",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-16T22:04:42.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Year 13 student Juliette, 18, has been named as one of the dead",
    "Boy, 7, becomes first to trial ‘life-changing’ exoskeleton",
    "Girl, 9, hailed as rising star after running 5k in under 20 minutes",
    "School pupil who died from meningitis named by headteacher in heartbreaking tribute",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has urged those who attended a nightclub in Canterbury to come forward for preventive meningitis antibiotics amid the viral outbreak in Kent.\n\nThe agency is calling on those who visited Club Chemistry between March 5 and 7 to claim the treatment as a precautionary measure.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Advice has been issued to 16,000 staff and students at the University of Kent, where antibiotics are also being offered to those who need them,\" an official statement read.\n\nSo far in Kent, there have been 13 confirmed cases of the disease since March 13. Two of those cases have died.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nYear 13 student Juliette, 18, has been named as one of the dead. Her family said they are \"beyond devastated,\" and they have \"no words to express their loss\".\n\nA student at the University of Kent has also died.\n\nCasey Marlow, 19, is another victim of the meningitis outbreak.\n\nDays after visiting the Canterbury nightclub with friends to celebrate her birthday, she was rushed to hospital, reporting exhaustion and weakness.\n\nHer mother, Emma, explained Casey began feeling ill in the days following her night out, but her condition quickly worsened.\n\n\"Casey went to the nightclub on Friday, March 6, and a few days later said she had a sore throat, but at first we didn't think anything of it,\" Emma told the Daily Mail.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Then on Saturday she pulled up outside my house and called me said she felt awful, she had a raging temperature, a stiff neck and a terrible headache.\n\n\"She looked really pale, and we just went to the hospital where she has been ever since. She's in isolation but she's getting a bit of colour back and is getting a lot of mummy care.\"\n\nMrs Marley, sitting at her daughter's bedside, emphasised that her initial symptoms were not serious, but rather \"just one of those bugs that goes around\".\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Boy, 7, becomes first to trial ‘life-changing’ exoskeleton\n  * Girl, 9, hailed as rising star after running 5k in under 20 minutes\n  * School pupil who died from meningitis named by headteacher in heartbreaking tribute\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"She said she had no energy and just felt so exhausted but the Saturday she was taken in she had such a raging temperature and looked awful,\" she continued.\n\n\"You just don't think something like this will happen to you or one of your family.\"\n\nCasey is expected to make a full recovery when she has completed her course of antibiotics.\n\nThe owner of Club Chemistry, Louise Jones-Roberts, confirmed that someone who attended the venue on that weekend had a diagnosis of meningitis.\n\nMrs Jones-Roberts revealed over 2,000 people attended the venue over the course of the weekend. She told the Press Association: \"I wouldn't have opened this weekend if I'd known, but I didn't know.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe club will remain closed until further notice.\n\nThe University of Kent cancelled in-person exams this week, while the student union called off its events.\n\nHundreds of students and locals queued at the campus on Monday to receive the precautionary antibiotics, under the guidance of the UKHSA.\n\nTrish Mannes, UKHSA Regional Deputy Director for the South East, said: \"Our thoughts remain with the friends and family involved and we understand that many people in the university and wider community will be affected by this sad news.\n\n\"Our investigations have identified that some cases visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury and it is important that anyone who visited the club between 5 and 7 March now comes forward for preventative antibiotic treatment as a precaution, as well as those offered antibiotics at the university – these students are being contacted directly through the university.\n\n\"If you think you may have symptoms of meningitis, do not hesitate to seek medical help by contacting your GP or calling NHS 111.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Thousands urged to come forward for preventive meningitis antibiotics as victim's mother opens up about 'awful illness'"
}