A Christchurch school student has fallen ill with meningococcal disease days after attending a rugby tournament.
The teenager from Shirley Boys’ High School was taken to hospital on Tuesday morning with meningococcal meningitis, the school said today.
The student had previously been at an Under-15 rugby tournament hosted at King’s High School in Dunedin from August 24-28, before returning to school.
He had stayed and travelled with other students from the school.
King’s High School classified the students’ contact as “indirect” because the Shirley rugby team did not share any changing rooms or showers with King’s, and the infected student left before the final match between the two teams.
The school said it also established points of contact and the movements of the infected player.
Emails were sent out to everyone involved in the tournament who may have been exposed to the infectious disease, “informing them of the situation, symptoms to look out for, and actions to take if any symptoms start”.
A follow-up well-being check email was also sent out 48 hours later.
The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand says it holds “significant concerns” given the close contact between the infected player and his teammates and recommends that anyone at the tournament should monitor their health.
Organisers of the southern school rugby tournament have been approached for comment.
The school said: “Yesterday afternoon, we held a meeting for the parents of the close contacts where the Public Health Service provided advice and met with each parent to provide an antibiotic, which is designed to minimise the potential spread of the infection.
“The risk of someone else who attends Shirley Boys’ High School developing the disease is very small, especially as the student’s symptoms only emerged this week and the student has not attended school since Friday, August 22. The school is following the protocols from the Public Health Service.”
Headmaster Tim Grocott said that, although further cases of meningococcal disease were unlikely, parents should seek urgent medical treatment if students developed symptoms, because the disease could progress rapidly.
Dr Annabel Begg, medical officer for the National Public Health Service, said all close contacts to the case had been identified and offered antibiotics.
“There is very little risk of meningococcal disease to others, as the infection is only passed on when people have close or prolonged contact.
“The National Public Health Service has worked closely with the school and determined there was also no risk of meningococcal disease infection for other students or staff.”
She said the disease was caused by a bacterial infection and could lead to death or permanent disability, such as deafness.
“There are a number of strains of meningococcus bacteria. However, the most common one in New Zealand is meningococcal B,” Begg said.
Gerard Rushton from the Meningitis Foundation said he held “significant concerns” given the close contact between the infected player and his teammates.
“We strongly recommend that anyone who was at the tournament closely monitor for symptoms, which are similar to the flu, but can advance quickly and require urgent diagnosis and treatment,” Rushton said.
“Meningitis can kill within hours, so time is of the essence.
“Know the symptoms and don’t wait for a rash to appear.
“The Meningitis Foundation has reached out to offer any support that it can to the student and his family, and we hope that he makes a full recovery.”
He recommended that all young people get vaccinated.
He said both vaccinations, Meningitis A, C, W, and Y and Meningitis B, were free for all people aged 13-25 in or entering their first year of a “close living situation”, which included university halls of residence and secondary school boarding houses.
Health New Zealand’s website says symptoms of meningococcal disease can develop over a one- or two-day period, or within just a few hours.
Early symptoms can resemble flu or a cold, but typically worsen quickly. Many people carry meningococcal bacteria in their noses and throats without becoming ill.
In rare cases, these bacteria can spread within the body and cause infections, which becomes known as meningococcal disease.
Because the bacteria do not survive long outside the body, the disease struggles to spread between individuals unless there is prolonged and close contact.
Meningococcal bacteria are more likely to spread between people in the same household, roommates and anyone with direct contact with the infected person’s saliva.