One young person has died and two others are being treated following an outbreak of meningitis in Reading, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
One of the cases has been confirmed as meningitis B, which was the same strain behind a cluster of fatal cases in Kent earlier this year.
Close contacts of those affected were being offered antibiotics as a precaution.
The agency said information has been shared about the infection with students and parents at all affected schools but the risk to the wider public was low.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the UKHSA said that its specialists were “working with local authority and NHS partners following three cases of meningococcal infection (meningitis) in young people in Reading”.
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.”
More to follow…
