Fourth meningitis outbreak case confirmed in Reading junior school pupil

A fourth case of meningitis in an outbreak in Reading has been confirmed in a junior school pupil.

The child, whose age has not been revealed, is part of a group of students who have contracted Meningitis B (MenB), including Lewis Waters, from The Henley College in Oxfordshire, who died last week.

On Friday, it emerged that two further patients being treated for meningitis were pupils at separate schools in the area - Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre.

On Tuesday, Dr Rachel Mearkle, consultant in health protection at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: "A fourth case of meningococcal disease has been confirmed in Reading.

"This fourth case has links with the same wider social network as the other cases, where measures, including antibiotic prophylaxis, have already been implemented."

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She added the individual, who attends Westwood Farm Junior School, Reading, was recovering well and parents had been advised about the signs and symptoms to look out for.

"The risk to the wider public remains low and this case is not linked to the incidents in Kent or Dorset," she said.

In a social media post on Friday, Lewis' father Sean Waters paid tribute to his son and wrote: "Words simply can't describe the heartbreak and upset we're going through."

He said Lewis developed sepsis "within a few hours of feeling ill", adding: "He fought hard and was really taken care of by the ICU [Intensive Care Unit] team, but they just couldn't save him."

He said his son was "funny, sociable and kind-hearted", and "loved his sisters, friends and family dearly", adding: "Life won't be the same for many of us now that he's gone."

Westwood Farm Junior School says it teaches Years 3 through 6 according to their website, which typically would include students aged between 7 and 11 years.

The UKHSA confirmed that tests show the infection in Reading is not the same strain of meningococcal group B bacteria linked to cases in Dorset in April or a fatal outbreak in Kent in March.

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All three cases in Dorset were among schoolchildren in the Weymouth area, health officials said.

Meanwhile, an outbreak in Kent led to the deaths of two people and resulted in thousands being given the MenB jab or antibiotics.

Those with symptoms can experience a high temperature, severe headache, vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, confusion, drowsiness, cold hands and feet, severe muscle pain and a rash that does not fade under pressure.

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