A teenager spent four days in hospital battling meningitis after saying he kissed a girl at Club Chemistry nightclub.
University of Kent student Alex Razas, 19, spent days in hospital after attending the club now believed to be at the centre of the outbreak.
Alex, who studies economics, went to the club last Friday, March 13, after clocking in a shift at his evening bartending job.
But less than 48hours later, the student had a ‘really, really bad throat’ after kissing a girl there. He credited his friends for saving his life by insisting they take him to hospital, as his condition was quickly getting worse.
He was ‘pumped’ full of antibiotics at the William Harvey Hospital as his fearful mother watched on, fearing the worst at one point when he took ‘minutes’ to wake up in hospital, the Telegraph reported.
But thankfully, he was released after four days and was given the all-clear on Wednesday.
Alex told the newspaper: ‘Throughout the whole day, I just started getting more and more symptoms. I started getting a really high fever.
‘My muscles all over my body just started feeling really weak. Then my back started getting really sore and painful to the touch.
Club Chemistry (pictured), a nightclub in Canterbury, has been linked to the meningitis outbreak
Anyone who attended the club from March 5 until March 15 will be offered the meningitis jab
Students queuing to receive vaccines and antibiotics at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury on Thursday
‘Then my neck started getting really stiff and painful to the touch. And then I was feeling really bad.’
His friend Alex Waights, 21, who drove him to hospital noted that the building was ‘packed’ with students being treated for meningitis, and that it was around four hours before Mr Razas was seen by doctors.
Alex’s fateful nightclub trip comes as cases soared by more than a third in a day on Thursday, with Club Chemistry believed to be at the heart of the outbreak, which has already left sixth-form pupil Juliette Kenny, 18, and a University of Kent student, 21, dead.
The bacteria is believed to have spread in student accommodation at the university, potentially among those sharing vapes, drinks bottles and cooking utensils.
Officials announced yesterday that a meningitis vaccine catch-up programme would be extended to schools affected by the outbreak after the number of cases soared by more than a third in a day.
Around 15,000 people who have potentially been exposed to the bug are now being urged to get the menB jab as a matter of urgency in a bid to stem its unprecedented spread.
But officials came under fire for closing the queue for jabs at the University of Kent and turning away more than 100 students so they could close their doors at 5pm on Thursday.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced on a visit to the university that more people affected by the meningitis outbreak will be vaccinated.
He said anyone who attended Club Chemistry from March 5 until March 15 would be offered the jab, alongside sixth-formers at four schools and other university students in Canterbury.
These are proportionate steps to help us contain spread and we’re keeping that situation under review,’ he added.
