A meningitis outbreak at the University of Kent could spread across Britain as students head home for the Easter break, public health officials have warned. The number of suspected or confirmed cases reached 29 on Friday, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Two students have died so far, including one from the University of Kent, while at least one patient is already receiving treatment in London. Now, Dr Anjan Ghosh, Kent County Council's director of public health, said disease "clusters" might emerge in other parts of the country as infected students travel back to their families while still incubating the illness. Dr Ghosh outlined three potential ways the outbreak could develop over the coming month. "The first scenario is it stays more or less contained in Kent," he said. "[The] second scenario is that there are people who have left and gone off campus. They were incubating when they left and they become cases of small household sporadic clusters outside Kent." "The third scenario is the worst-case scenario, which is that those cases which happened out of Kent [create] a cluster of cases outside Kent," he said, adding that this was "highly unlikely". The public health director also revealed that 12 university students remain seriously ill in hospital. Health officials are working to determine whether a mutated strain triggered the surge in cases . At least 13 infections have been confirmed as meningitis B. The UKHSA said preliminary analysis indicated the strain was similar to those already in circulation and that existing vaccines should provide protection. READ MORE ON MENINGITIS: NHS 'cannot cope with another pandemic' warn top doctors - as surgeries across Britain issued urgent meningitis alert Fears grow as Canterbury meningitis outbreak reaches 29 cases, UKHSA confirms Students DENIED meningitis jabs amid outbreak after staff clock off work at 5pm However, the agency did not rule out mutation entirely. The disease typically takes between two and 10 days to develop symptoms after initial infection. Dr Ghosh said it was "possible there might be more cases" but cautioned it remained too early to confirm whether the outbreak had reached its peak. A targeted vaccination programme has been expanded to include anyone who visited Club Chemistry, a Canterbury nightclub linked to the outbreak , along with Year 12 and 13 pupils at affected schools and university staff and students. More than 2,500 people have already received the jab, with over 1,000 students queuing at the university on Friday. Kent and Medway NHS Trust has requested 5,000 additional vaccines after receiving 6,500 doses from national supplies. Ed Waller, the trust's deputy chief executive, said more than 10,000 antibiotic doses had been distributed during the week. Students who have already returned home can access free vaccinations through their local GP. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter