A fourth case of meningitis has been found in the Reading area at a junior school in Tilehurst, the school has confirmed.
Parents and staff at Westwood Farm Junior School received a letter late yesterday evening (Monday, May 18) informing them of a "confirmed case of meningococcal disease" in one of the school's Year 4 students.
The student is "receiving appropriate treatment and recovering well".
The letter was stamped with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) logo, but the Chronicle understands it was circulated by Westwood Farm Headteacher Geraldine Ross via an app the school uses to communicate.
When reached for comment, Headteacher Geraldine Ross said the school is "following all advice that we have been given" and shared a statement from UKHSA.
A spokesperson for the school also confirmed it is open as usual today (Tuesday, May 19).
In the statement from UKHSA, Dr Rachel Mearkle, a consultant in health protection, 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.
"The individual, who attends Westwood Farm Junior School, is recovering well.
"Information has been shared with parents and carers at the school to advise of the signs and symptoms to look out for.
"All four cases have been confirmed to be Meningitis B (MenB).
"The risk to the wider public remains low and this case is not linked to the incidents in Kent or Dorset.”
UKHSA also sent the same statement to the Chronicle in response to a separate comment request late last night.
The case of meningitis B (MenB) at Westwood Farm marks the fourth MenB case reported in the Reading area in recent days, after UKHSA announced on Thursday last week (May 14) that one young person in the area had died from meningitis and two others were receiving treatment.
It was later confirmed that the young person who had died was Lewis Waters, a sixth-form student at Henley College in Oxfordshire.
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The Westwood Farm letter described this news as "devastating for the student's family and friends, including members of the Westwood Farm community".
The letter said: "Our thoughts are with the family affected by this tragic news, and with our Year 4 student and their family at this very difficult time."
The two other young people receiving treatment for meningitis are pupils from Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School & Sixth Form Centre.
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The Westwood Farm letter noted UKHSA had "reiterated that the risk to our school community remains very low", as the bacteria "rarely spread to individuals who are not household or intimate contacts".
UKHSA carried out contact tracing for the Westwood Farm case yesterday, according to the letter, with antibiotics being offered to anyone considered at risk.
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