Doctors warn over brain bug

As reported in the Daily Echo yesterday, the 21-year-old, of Park Close, Brockenhurst, was studying for a masters degree in marine biology at Hull University when he contracted the disease.

His parents, Robert and Marie, travelled 275 miles to Hull after Jonathan was taken ill, but the former Brockenhurst College student died of menigococcal septicaemia an hour and a half after they arrived.

The tale is chillingly similar to events in 1997 when three students at the University of Southampton lost their lives to the bug.

Three others also contracted the disease in what was described as the worst recorded outbreak at a British university.

Dr Robert Green, co-ordinator of student services at the University of Southampton, said incoming students were now very well informed about the disease.

He said: "We sent out a letter to all new incoming undergraduate students over the summer, and in that pack there was also a letter from Dr Mike Barker, who is Southampton's chief consultant in communicable diseases.

"He does advise undergraduate students to get the meningitis immunisation before they come to the university if they haven't already had it, and all the GPs who serve our students will be offering the immunisation to students if they haven't had it. There's a great deal of information available.

"After the events of 1997, we are very aware of how dangerous it can be."

Dr Green said even students who had been immunised needed to be vigilant.

He added: "Even though students may have had the immunisation, that only gives them protection against strain C - there's no protection against strain B, which is just as dangerous as C."

Statistics show college and university students have a much greater chance of catching meningitis than anyone else, as one in four are carriers of the meningococcal bacteria at the back of their throats, compared with one in ten of the rest of the population.