A five-year-old boy who contracted meningococcal disease shortly after moving from Northland to Tauranga does not have the strain of the disease responsible for an outbreak in Northland.

The youngster was one of three people in the Bay of Plenty diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease during the holiday period.

"Laboratory testing for this particular case has confirmed that the meningococcal infection was of a different group to the recent Meningococcal W outbreak in Northland, and is therefore not related," says Toi Te Ora medical of health Dr Jim Miller.

A five-year-old boy who contracted meningococcal disease shortly after moving from Northland to Tauranga does not have the strain of the disease responsible for an outbreak in Northland.
The child had been living in the Bay of Plenty for 10 days before he became unwell.

Because the meningococcal infection has an incubation period of three to four days it was very likely the boy contracted the disease while in the Bay of Plenty, says Jim.

Laboratory tests for the two other meningococcal infections were yet to be completed.

One of the boy's relatives, an eght-year-old girl, had also been diagnosed with meningococcal disease, which can kill in hours or leave survivors permanently disabled.

The third case in the region, a 25-year-old man from Ōpōtiki, was not believed to be related to the children's cases.

Bay of Plenty medical officer of health Dr Jim Miller has warned people to be vigilant and to be aware of the signs of the potentially deadly disease in the wake of the latest spate of cases.

Health authorities are on high alert for meningococcal disease after an outbreak of the highly virulent W strain of the disease in Northland last year.

Jim says people in close contact with those who had been diagnosed were given advice by Toi Te Ora public health, and offered antibiotics as appropriate.

"With the recent outbreak of meningococcal disease in Northland, and concerns about the changing patterns of meningococcal disease across the country, it is prudent for us all to be alert and look out for each other."

Meningococcal disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis.

Jim says about 15 per cent of people carried the bacteria in their nose and throat without getting sick, but occasionally the bacteria spread to the bloodstream, causing septicemia (blood poisoning) and meningitis.

Meningococcal disease can spread between people through nose or throat secretions.

Good hygiene, including covering coughs and sneezes and regular hand washing, can reduce the risk of the disease spreading.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE
* High fever
* Headache
* Vomiting
* Refusal of feeds (in infants)
* Sleepiness
* Neck stiffness
* Aversion to bright lights
* Joint and muscle pains
* A rash which looks like small purple or red spots that does not fade when pressed
If you think you or someone else may have meningococcal disease, seek medical advice immediately.

-Stuff/Brittany Keogh.