Three more cases of meningitis have been confirmed in young people in Dorset, health officials have announced, weeks after a major outbreak in Kent.
They are understood to have contracted the Meningitis B strain, which can be fatal.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said antibiotics and vaccines are being offered to school children in years 7 to 13 across the Weymouth, Portland and Chickerell areas of Dorset.
Officials say the three cases were confirmed between March 20 and April 15.
The three students affected have received treatment and are ‘recovering well’, it said, adding that close contacts have already been offered antibiotics as a precaution.
Two of the students attended Budmouth Academy, a large secondary school in Weymouth, while the other attended Wey Valley Academy.
Information about the signs and symptoms of meningitis have been shared with students and parents of both schools, the UKHSA said.
The three cases have been confirmed as menB and are the same sub-strain type – but a different sub-strain – to the cases seen in Kent last month, which left two students dead.
But officials say the cases are not linked to the Kent outbreak and the latest outbreak is ‘not on the same scale’ as seen last month.