Website of the YearA 44-year-old woman died of meningococcal disease at Rotorua hospital on Sunday morning, becoming the third person to fall victim to the epidemic in the region this year.
The death came just four weeks after 19-year-old Avril Jade Herkt died in Rotorua from meningitis.
To date there have been 91 cases of the disease around the Bay of Plenty -- 19 more cases than last year.
Nationally, there have been 507 notified cases of meningitis so far this year, with 14 deaths.
At the same time last year, 547 cases had been reported, with 24 deaths.
Bay of Plenty medical officer of health Phil Shoemack was reluctant to talk about details of the case but said the woman's symptoms were consistent with meningitis.
"In most cases, people go from being slightly off colour to becoming very unwell and needing a doctor very quickly.
"The disease can progress in just a matter of hours. That is what's happened in this case."
People in close contact with the woman over the past week had been given a two-day course of antibiotics to ensure they did not develop meningitis, Dr Shoemack said.
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
New Zealand