Health officials have confirmed a fourth case of meningitis linked to an ongoing outbreak in Reading, this time affecting a pupil at Westwood Farm Junior School.
The young patient, whose precise age remains undisclosed, is making a good recovery, according to authorities.
This latest diagnosis connects to the same cluster of Meningitis B infections that has affected students across multiple educational institutions in the area.
Among those previously diagnosed was Lewis Waters, a student at The Henley College in Oxfordshire, who tragically lost his life last week.
The young patient is making a good recovery according to authorities
| GETTYTwo other cases emerged on Friday involving pupils from Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre.
Dr Rachel Mearkle, consultant in health protection at the UK Health Security Agency, confirmed the connection between all four patients earlier today.
"This fourth case has links with the same wider social network as the other cases, where measures, including antibiotic prophylaxis, have already been implemented," she said.
The UKHSA official stressed that the general population faces minimal danger from the outbreak.
"The risk to the wider public remains low and this case is not linked to the incidents in Kent or Dorset," Dr Mearkle added.
Preventative antibiotic treatment has already been administered to those within the affected social circle.
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Lewis Waters died from the infection after rapidly developing sepsis | FAMILY PHOTOTwo months have passed since two people died of the infection in Kent, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury. In April, three young people contracted meningitis in Dorset.
The family of Lewis Waters, a sixth-form student at The Henley College in Oxfordshire, has paid tribute to the teenager following his death from meningitis earlier this week.
"Words simply can't describe the heartbreak and upset we're going through," the family stated.
His loved ones said they were "devastated" by the sudden loss of the college pupil, whose death has prompted a public health response across the region.
The pupil is enrolled at Westwood Farm Junior School
|GETTY
Lewis's father, Sean, explained that his son went from feeling slightly unwell to developing sepsis within just hours.
"He fought hard and was really taken care of by the ICU team, but they just couldn't save him," Sean wrote in his tribute.
"We are absolutely devastated."
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