Keeleigh Goodwin attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury, Kent, which is closed until further notice amid an investigation into a fatal meningitis outbreak in the county
A mum has warned other parents after her daughter caught meningitis by – she claims – sharing a vape in a nightclub.
Khali Goodwin says Keeleigh, 22, was lucky to survive after being rushed to hospital following bouts of sickness, headaches and fatigue. Keeleigh was diagnosed with meningitis B, the bacterial strain which is not covered by the vaccine teenagers get when they are in Year 9.
She remains in hospital and the incident has “absolutely frightened the life out of her,” Khali said. She also claimed her daughter, who lives in a houseshare in Canterbury, caught meningitis by sharing a vape at the nightclub Club Chemistry in the city. Authorities said yesterday anyone who attended Club Chemistry across three consecutive nights at the start of the month should seek urgent treatment. Its owner said more than 2,000 people attended on March 5, 6 and 7.
Mum-of-six Khali said: “She did say that one of her friends also has sort of the same symptoms, obviously not as bad, but they’ve been sharing a vape. I think sharing vapes is a major way of it being passed.”
READ MORE: All the important facts parents of teens or students must know about deadly meningitisREAD MORE: Club Chemistry staff member in hospital with meningitis
Health bodies do not list vaping as a transmission route of meningitis. However, authorities do say the infection is spread via saliva and droplets, so it can be transmitted via shared utensils, cutlery, cups and even toothbrushes.
It is also spread by sneezing, coughing and kissing. Not everyone who carries the virus or bacteria that cause meningitis in their throat are showing symptoms or sick. Andrew Preston, a professor of microbial pathogenicity at the University of Bath, said: “If you share a contaminated vape, it’s going to go into the back of throat, but to cause the disease, it then has to cross from within the nasal pharynx over that quite strong barrier.
“So I wonder if the vaping itself has caused weakening of the barrier, and the bugs are then able to move across when normally they can’t. That’s pure speculation.”
Khali, from Herne Bay, Kent, told The Sun she believes her daughter would have died had her flatmate not seen her lifeless at home. She said: “Luckily she lives in shared accommodation. The girl who found her rang an ambulance, which got there really quick. If it wasn’t for that girl, she wouldn’t be here. She was really bad.
“I never, in a million trillion years, ever thought it would be this. Never. She had a lumbar puncture and CT scans and stuff… and when it came back I said, ‘How? How has she got that, she’s protected?’ But it didn’t come out until 2015, this vaccine.”
It is believed Keeleigh, who works in McDonald’s in Canterbury, will spend at least one more week in hospital to recover. Her mum continued: “She’s said she can’t see herself ever going out again. It’s absolutely frightened the life out of her.”
Keeleigh visited Club Chemistry on March 12. Louise Jones-Roberts, owner of the club, said: “I’m devastated for the families affected. It’s so incredibly sad. I just really hope people know the symptoms and no more lives are lost.”
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