Special traffic route as pupils get MenB jabs

Temporary traffic routes are in place in Weymouth as students head to a secondary school for antibiotics and vaccinations after three young people contracted meningitis.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the cases were confirmed between 20 March and 15 April. Two students attend Budmouth Academy the third is at Wey Valley Academy in the Dorset town.

Antibiotics and vaccines are being offered to pupils in years 7 to 13 at the two schools, to be followed after the weekend by those at other schools in the town and Portland and Chickerell.

To manage the expected high number of vehicles heading to Budmouth Academy on Saturday and Sunday, traffic is being diverted via an industrial estate.

The traffic route changes mean vehicles coming from the town will need to turn right at the Marquis of Granby traffic lights.

Drivers are then being routed through the Granby Industrial estate to the Chickerell link road and then back to Chickerell Road to access Budmouth Academy, businesses or residential properties, and on towards Chickerell.

Traffic from the Chickerell direction can use the Chickerell link road to access the town.

Dorset Council said: "It is anticipated to be very busy at time so, if you can, avoid the area this weekend."

Pupils at other schools in the Weymouth area and eligible children who do not attend school will be invited for antibiotics and vaccines from next week, said the authority.

The UKHSA said all three young people in Weymouth were recovering well and their close contacts had already been offered antibiotics as a precaution.

The Dorset cases have been confirmed as meningitis B (MenB) and are the same sub-strain type, but a different sub-strain, to the one detected recently in Kent.

They are not linked to the deadly Kent outbreak, the health agency said.

Young people under 16 attending for a vaccine should be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is able to provide consent for the jab.

The two students who attend Budmouth Academy are known contacts of each other but there is currently no confirmed link with the pupil at Wey Valley, said the UKHSA.

"This may mean that this strain of MenB bacteria is transmitting more widely among young people in Weymouth," it added.

The agency said information about the signs and symptoms of meningitis have been shared with students and parents of both schools.

In Kent, thousands of students are being offered a second dose of the MenB vaccine following the fatal outbreak in March.

The incident saw 20 confirmed cases in total and claimed the lives of sixth-form pupil Juliette Kenny, 18, and a 21-year-old student from the University of Kent, who has not been named.

The signs and symptoms of meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia can include a fever, headache, rapid breathing, drowsiness, shivering, vomiting and cold hands and feet.

Septicaemia can also cause a rash that does not fade when pressed against a glass.