A British hospital missed an opportunity to alert national health authorities early about a suspected meningitis case, its trust confirmed on Wednesday.
Two people have died, and more than 10,000 people have been vaccinated since the outbreak of the infectious disease in the southeast English county of Kent earlier this month.
A patient first presented to a hospital in the town of Margate in Kent on the evening of Wednesday, March 11.
But the local hospital trust did not report the case to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) until Friday, March 13, once a diagnosis had been confirmed, some 26 hours later.
By law, all suspected cases of meningitis must be reported to the authorities without waiting for laboratory confirmation.
Des Holden, acting chief executive of the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, acknowledged there had been "an opportunity prior to diagnosis being confirmed" to notify UKHSA.
"We cannot go into the detail of individual patients' care, but the trust has been in close contact with UKHSA since Friday, March 13, to discuss the management of patients presenting with suspected meningitis," he said.
Health minister Wes Streeting said he was taking the matter "seriously", but added the delay appeared not to have had a "material impact" on the spread of the disease.
He told LBC radio staff that he had suspected meningitis by mid-morning on Thursday, but did not report it straight away.
"We have not found evidence of onward transmission to other people through that delay that we would otherwise have traced faster," he said.
Two students have died in the outbreak, including an 18-year-old sixth form pupil, Juliette Kenny, described by her family as "fit, healthy and strong", and a University of Kent student.
"As our campus quietens after a difficult week and the end of term, we want to recognise the care shown across our community, how support has been provided and what support you can access if you need it in the coming days and weeks," the University of Kent said in a statement on Tuesday on social media.
As of Tuesday at 12:30 pm, the number of confirmed cases had fallen to 20, with a further two under investigation, bringing the total to 22, according to UKHSA figures.
By Tuesday, NHS Kent and Medway — the regional health authority — said 13,512 doses of antibiotics and 10,929 vaccines had been administered.
"It does appear as though we are in the tail-end of the outbreak," said University of Southampton's Global Health research fellow, Michael Head, via the Science Media Centre.
"There is, though, still the possibility that new linked cases could emerge."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
