GMB paused the show for a major breaking news update from Reading (Image: ITV)
But things took an unexpected turn minutes into the show when the dynamic duo welcomed news correspondent Philip Sime onto the show for a devastating breaking news update live from Henley-on-Thames. He announced that a student has died and two people are being treated following a meningitis outbreak in Reading.
A student has died and two people are being treated after cases of meningitis in Reading. The UK Health Security Agency say they have offered advice to parents and pupils at schools in the area and contacts of the cases have been offered antibiotics.
He began: “There is a family and a student community waking up to the very worst news. Meningitis has sadly claimed the life of another young person who we understand to be a student at Henley College in Berkshire. Two other people are in hospital with the infection.”
The UK Health Security Agency say they have offered advice to parents and pupils at schools in the area and contacts of the cases have been offered antibiotics. When quizzed about what the health agency said about this particular outbreak, the broadcaster explained: “The UK Health Security Agency said this morning that 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. They say we are working closely with partners and have provided public health advice and precautionary antibiotic treatment to close contacts of the cases.”
The presenter went on to reveal that one of those cases was confirmed as meningitis B, which was the same strain that was identified in Kent earlier this year when an outbreak hit the student community there. Two people died, and thousands were offered a vaccine to protect against the infection.
Mr Sime added that because it is a very small number of cases, health officials currently don’t plan to offer a vaccination programme. Instead, they are urging the public to remain vigilant, while stressing that the risk remains low.
Two months ago, two people died after an outbreak of MenB in Kent, linked to a nightclub in Canterbury, and in April, three young people contracted meningitis in Dorset. Dr Shamez Ladhani, a consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, told the BBC it was “really unfortunate” to have had three separate outbreaks in such a short space of time.
She said: “This is a very rare disease, but when it strikes, it can be very lethal. We had the strain from one of the three cases [in Reading], and we know that it is completely distinct from the one that caused the outbreak in Kent and the one that caused the outbreak in Dorset.
“We have identified a social network where these three are connected, and we are almost certain that this is going to be the same strain. The fact that they have the infection means that we have the same preventative measures and will try and identify the contacts and protect them with antibiotics and vaccines.”
