Severe meningitis outbreak caused by bacteria that took genes from microbiome
An unprecedented meningitis outbreak occurred in Kent, UK, in March this year, which seems to have been driven by a strain of bacteria taking genes from harmless microbes
Kent
Place · 16 articlesAll coverage
page 1 of 1
Why was the Kent meningitis outbreak so severe?
More than 20 young people were infected in the March outbreak, linked to a Canterbury nightclub.
BBC22 Sept
Genetic Clues Behind Kent's Deadly MenB Outbreak
New genome analysis suggests the Kent MenB strain picked up DNA from harmless throat bacteria, raising its virulence. Medscape News UK
Medscape22 Sept
Scientists discover why Kent meningitis outbreak was so severe
The bacteria responsible picked up some new genetic material, say experts.
BBC22 Sept
Family shares hidden cost of cancer care
Maya, 13, from Hythe in Kent, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was three.
BBC20 Sept
‘It was a mess. I had to do something’: the personal struggle that inspired rap star Giggs to start a special needs school
After a battle to get his autistic children properly assessed, the London MC has co-founded a specialist centre in Kent to help neurodivergent kids realise their potential It has been a busy few weeks for the London rapper Giggs. Two weeks ago, he was in New Jersey with his fiancee Valerie as she gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Noa. The next day, he flew home and went straight to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to guest on stage with Jay-Z. “Yeah, it’s been crazy,” he smiles. Remarkably, as soon as Noa was delivered, he also found time to livestream from the US hospital to the launch event for his latest project: not an album, but a specialist school and assessment centre for neurodivergent children. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Ian Gittins18 Sept
At least five Reform councillors joined Facebook group linked to far-right Patriot Platform
Politicians from Solihull, Gateshead and Kent were in online group linked to balaclava-clad far-right agitators At least five Reform UK councillors have been members of a Facebook group linked to the far-right group involved in the blockades of Dover and Portsmouth by masked men, according to anti-fascist campaigners. Nigel Farage’s party has been wrestling with internal divisions over its position on the Patriot Platform group, whose activities have been condemned by Farage and across the political spectrum. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Ben Quinn and Amelia Gentleman16 Sept
County cricket: Somerset in front as thrilling title race builds to climax
Durham have sealed promotion to the top flight, leaving Kent and Northamptonshire to fight for the second spot By the 99.94 Cricket Blog This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog Continue reading...
The Guardian•Gary Naylor14 Sept
Kent is having a champagne moment: ‘English wine has gone from a joke to world-class’
French champagne house Taittinger is helping produce a premium fizz in the Garden of England – and now visitors can visit the beautiful winery and sample it The grapes are turning purple on tall green vines, which stretch down towards the distant flint-and-limestone tower of Chilham church. These rows of Pinot Meunier, destined for English sparkling wine, are 51% owned by French champagne house Taittinger. “England is now the most exciting wine region,” says host and sales executive Hilary Sharp as she leads me around Domaine Evremond vineyard, which opened its visitor centre last year to coincide with the launch of its first wine. In his 2023 book Vines in a Cold Climate , drinks writer Henry Jeffreys charts the rise of English wine “from a joke to world-class in 30 years”. The book opens with an alcohol-fuelled scene of vine-planting at Domaine Evremond in May 2017: unseasonably cold, rainy, muddy, with rambling anecdotes from anglophile Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger about “English women encountered in his misspent youth”. The vineyard is named for the exiled French aristocrat Charles de Saint-Évremond , a symbol of hedonistic Anglo-French cooperation. The bon vivant introduced champagne to England and party-loving Charles II made him governor of Duck Island in St James’s Park. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Phoebe Taplin12 SeptKent is having a champagne moment: ‘English wine has gone from a joke to world-class’
French champagne house Taittinger is helping produce a premium fizz in the Garden of England – and now visitors can visit the beautiful winery and sample it The grapes are turning purple on tall green vines, which stretch down towards the distant flint-and-limestone tower of Chilham church. These rows of Pinot Meunier, destined for English sparkling wine, are 51% owned by French champagne house Taittinger. “England is now the most exciting wine region,” says host and sales executive Hilary Sharp as she leads me around Domaine Evremond vineyard, which opened its visitor centre last year to coincide with the launch of its first wine. In his 2023 book Vines in a Cold Climate , drinks writer Henry Jeffreys charts the rise of English wine “from a joke to world-class in 30 years”. The book opens with an alcohol-fuelled scene of vine-planting at Domaine Evremond in May 2017: unseasonably cold, rainy, muddy, with rambling anecdotes from anglophile Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger about “English women encountered in his misspent youth”. The vineyard is named for the exiled French aristocrat Charles de Saint-Évremond , a symbol of hedonistic Anglo-French cooperation. The bon vivant introduced champagne to England and party-loving Charles II made him governor of Duck Island in St James’s Park. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Phoebe Taplin12 Sept
Country diary: The slow magic of growing a cricket bat from scratch | Michael White
Cranbrook, Kent: We are felling a crop of willow trees that have managed to survive their nemesis – the grey squirrel – and are destined for the batter’s grip As the thwack of leather on willow fades from village greens with the waning of the cricket season, a new sound, perhaps less evocative of the country idyll, fills our little valley. Toppled willow trees rip through the canopies of their doomed neighbours, and drop with dull thuds to the angry screams of chainsaws. To watch any tree fall is poignant, but for someone involved in woodland management like me, it can be conflicting. These majestic willows were planted in my teenage years, they have received my care and protection, and in turn they have given me much joy, but I always knew they were a crop, not a permanent feature. So, as these old friends are felled and hauled away to become cricket bats, an acutely uncomfortable feeling rises in me, somewhere between grief and satisfaction. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Michael White11 Sept
Shabana Mahmood urges police to curb far-right, anti-migrant protests
Home secretary tells officers to make ‘full use’ of their powers after masked vigilantes cause weekend of chaos Shabana Mahmood has urged police to curb the activities of far-right, anti-migrant groups which have “obvious malign intent” after a weekend of chaos caused by balaclava-wearing vigilantes. In a meeting on Thursday, the home secretary told senior officers to make “full use” of their powers, including bans on face coverings, after police were assaulted and ports were disrupted in Kent and Hampshire. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor10 SeptShabana Mahmood urges police to curb far-right, anti-migrant protests
Home secretary tells officers to make ‘full use’ of their powers after masked vigilantes cause weekend of chaos Shabana Mahmood has urged police to curb the activities of far-right, anti-migrant groups which have “obvious malign intent” after a weekend of chaos caused by balaclava-wearing vigilantes. In a meeting on Thursday, the home secretary told senior officers to make “full use” of their powers, including bans on face coverings, after police were assaulted and ports were disrupted in Kent and Hampshire. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor10 Sept
Ontic acquires SIRS Navigation
Ontic has acquired SIRS Navigation, a Kent-based specialist in the design and manufacture of precision standby magnetic compasses for the global aviation industry. SIRS Navigation has been designing, manufacturing and supporting aviation magnetic compasses for more than 60 years. Its products are installed across major commercial and business aviation platforms, including fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, […]
AviTrader•Heike Tamm9 Sept
‘Cheap travel is not a defence’: the parents facing court for school absences in England
In one court in Kent, most cases relate to term-time holidays, but non-attendance is a complex issue and post-pandemic rates remain high As the long school summer break approached its mid-point recently, Margate beach was crowded with families enjoying the brief reprieve between the year’s fourth and fifth heatwaves. For most, thoughts of the classroom were probably not at the forefront of their minds. But for the seven mothers and two fathers who were summoned at 10am to a stuffy room in the town’s magistrates court, set just behind the beachfront strip of arcades, the subject was unavoidable. They were among hundreds of parents due in courts across England this month for failing to ensure their children had regularly attended school over the course of the last academic year. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Amelia Gentleman15 Aug
Starting uni? What to know about the free NHS meningitis B jab in England
It follows the UK's largest and fastest growing meningitis B outbreak to date in Kent earlier this year.
BBC3 Aug