Dad of meningitis victim pays tribute to 'kind-hearted' son who died hours after falling ill
Two pupils in Reading are also being treated for meningitis.
A teenage boy who died after contracting meningitis has been described as "a funny, kind-hearted soul" by his family.
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Lewis Waters, a sixth-form pupil at The Henley College in Oxfordshire, died earlier this week after becoming ill.
His dad Sean has shared a tribute to his son and said the family are "absolutely devastated".
He wrote: "Words simply can’t describe the heartbreak and upset we’re going through.
"The early hours of yesterday we lost our Lewis. Within a few hours of feeling a bit ill he developed sepsis and was taken from us.
"He fought hard and was really taken care of by the ICU team, but they just couldn’t save him.
"We are absolutely devastated."
Read more: Two pupils from different schools treated for meningitis after death of sixth-form student
Read more: What is meningitis and is it spreading in the UK?
He added: "If you didn’t know Lewis, he was a funny, sociable kind hearted [soul]. He liked to include everyone and took great joy in winding me and Kate up.
"He also loved his sisters, friends and family dearly.
"Life won’t be the same for many of us now that he’s gone."
Two pupils, one from Reading Blue Coat School and another from Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre in Reading, are also being treated for meningitis, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.
Close contacts of the cases have been offered antibiotics as a precaution, the UKHSA said.
The agency confirmed that tests show the infection is not the same strain as meningitis B linked to a fatal outbreak in Kent in March.
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.”
The UKHSA said that information has been shared with the parents and students at all affected schools about the signs of meningitis.
Symptoms can include 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.