Reading meningitis outbreak update as details emerge of children being treated

Two young people being treated for meningitis in Reading are pupils at schools in the area, the UK Health Security Agency has revealed. Three cases have been identified in Reading including one student at Henley College in Oxfordshire who has died. The other two cases are pupils at Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre, the UKHSA said. Confirmed testing on one of the cases showed it is not the same strain of meningitis B as in previous outbreaks this year in Kent and Dorset, the agency said. On Thursday, the UKHSA said new cases had been found in Reading , and that a student had died. One of the cases was reported as being confirmed as meningitis B - the same strain behind the cluster of cases in Kent. The disease does not spread easily and the risk to the wider public remains low, the health body has said. Meanwhile close contacts of the cases are being offered antibiotics as a precaution. Following the announcement that the student had passed away, Dr Rachel Mearkle, consultant in health protection said: “We understand that many people will be affected by this sad news and would like to offer our condolences to the friends and family of this student." “Students and staff will naturally be feeling worried about the likelihood of further cases. However, meningococcal meningitis requires very close contact to spread and large outbreaks, as we saw in Kent recently, are thankfully rare. “We are working closely with partners and have provided public health advice and precautionary antibiotic treatment to close contacts of the cases. Meningococcal disease does not spread easily and the risk to the wider public remains low.” In a statement on Thursday, the Hart Surgery in Henley-on-Thames said: “Dear patients. We have been in contact with the UK Health Security Agency this morning regarding the very sad news that a student at Henley College has died with suspected meningococcal disease. “They have confirmed that they are actively contacting those who may be at risk due to a close association with the student involved. “If you have not been contacted by the UK Health Security Agency, then currently you do not require any treatment. Staff and students have been advised they can attend the college as usual. “The number of confirmed cases is very low so there are currently no plans for a local emergency meningitis vaccination programme.”