Two pupils from different schools treated for meningitis after death of sixth-form student

It comes after a young person died from the disease, who has since been identified as a sixth-form pupil at Henley College in Oxfordshire.

The two patients being treated attend Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

Tests show the infection is not the same strain as meningitis B linked to a fatal outbreak in Kent in March, the agency confirmed.

Close contacts of all those infected were being offered antibiotics as a precaution, the health chiefs added.

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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 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”.

A statement from Henley College said its “thoughts and sincere condolences are with the student’s family and friends at this extremely difficult time”.

It added. “We are supporting those affected within our college community and are following the advice and guidance given by the UK Health Security Agency.

"Out of respect for the family, we will not be providing further detail at this time.”

The outbreak of menB in Kent earlier this year led to the deaths of two people. As a result, thousands of people were given the menB vaccine or antibiotics in a bid to curb the spread.

Andrew Preston, a professor of microbial pathogenicity at University of Bath, said: “This latest outbreak again has emerged in the college age cohort, like the Kent outbreak.

“All current cases appear contained to a well-defined social contact group which enables rapid contact tracing and the administration of antibiotics and vaccination if deemed a necessary precaution.

“At the moment, there is no indication of transmission to the wider community, although understandably this will have caused wide concern in the area.”