The University of Sheffield has reassured students over growing concerns after two people died in an outbreak of meningitis in the south-east of England.

There have been no reported cases in Sheffield, but two people – a sixth-form student at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham and a 21-year old student at the University of Kent – died as a result of meningitis.

Another 11 are seriously ill in hospital and more than 30,000 people in the Canterbury area being contacted by the NHS as being potentially in contact with the disease.

The University of Kent campus has been described as almost a ‘ghost town’ with many students returning home to avoid further risk.

The university is planning to cancel all in-person assessments and exams for the rest of the week. 

The University of Sheffield sent an email to students on Monday afternoon giving advice and explaining symptoms.

George Phillips, a student at the University of Sheffield, said: “I think its pretty scary because people die quite quickly, and it hits close to home because they are university students and so are we.

“It’s quite a dangerous and hard to treat illness and its spreading quite quickly.”

Meningitis can spread by coughing or sneezing, as well as kissing or even just sharing the same kitchen utensils.

It is less likely to be spread by someone with meningitis but this can still happen and it is possible to get meningitis more than once.

Outbreaks are rare but can occur in congested areas such as university campuses or nightclubs.

Many people, especially of university age would have been vaccinated against the disease in their childhood, using either the MenB or the MenACWY vaccines but their are fears that some have not been. Students in Kent are currently queuing for antibiotics in an attempt to reduce the risk of the disease spreading. 

Mr Phillips expressed his concerns about the lack of vaccination. He said: “Not everyone is vaccinated, so it’s quite frightening to imagine what could happen if its spreads around the country.”

Fellow student Matthew Hunt said: “Considering the amount of uni students who move around the country a lot, it has a very high risk of spreading quickly so it becomes a bigger issue than people realise.”

Despite the University of Sheffield statement which confirmed there had been no reported cases, some students said more needed to be done to reassure people.

Grace Homeyard said: “They don’t seem to have acknowledged it at the minute.

“I actually found out about the outbreak first through my mum, and not because of anything uni sent, so I really think they should do something about it.”