Health chiefs issue warning after two cases of meningitis at Tyrone school

A WARNING has been issued after it emerged that two children from a primary school in Co Tyrone are being treated for meningitis.

The Public Health Agency (PHA) said it had received a formal notification in relation to meningococcal septicaemia in an unnamed school in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area.

Parents have been warned to be on the lookout for symptoms and to seek urgent medical help in the event of a young child or adolescent falling ill.

While anyone can get meningitis, certain groups are more at risk, including children under the age of five and young adults aged 15 to 24.

The speed of the infection, which is often confused with cold or flu, makes it among doctors and parents’ most feared illnesses.

Meningococcal septicaemia — a sudden and acute infection of the bloodstream — can prove fatal.

The PHA said antibiotics had been offered to the families of the two children, as a precautionary measure, as well classmates and staff at the school. The body also stressed that there was no risk to the wider public.

It said: “Antibiotics are offered only to those people who have had close and prolonged personal contact with patients.”

The PHA added it was important that everyone was aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis.

These include sudden onset of high fever, a severe and worsening headache without any obvious cause, severe neck stiffness, dislike of bright lights, very cold hands and feet, drowsiness that can deteriorate so someone is difficult to wake or may even be unconscious, and a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass.

“Should anyone develop any of these, they should contact their GP or local accident and emergency department immediately,” the PHA said.

Sinead McMurray, from the Meningitis Research Foundation in Belfast, added: “Our thoughts are with the children affected and their families and friends.

“We encourage everyone to take up the offer of the vaccines that are included in the routine immunisation schedule to protect themselves and their families.”