A group of pupils and teachers were at the centre of health scare after two coach drivers contracted suspected Legionnaires' Disease during a trip to Spain.

One of the drivers, a 59-year-old man from the North Staffordshire area, died on Saturday morning, while his 36-year-old colleague is seriously ill in Leighton hospital, near Crewe, Cheshire.

Virtually all the children have now been contacted and there is no evidence that any of them have contracted the disease

NHS North West

Health officials have contacted "virtually all" of the 36 teenage pupils and four teachers from the Blue Coat School, in Liverpool.

None are believed to be showing any signs of the disease.

The two men were taken ill during the week-long trip to the Costa Brava but it is understood they stayed in separate accommodation to the children.

The men are thought to have first showed signs of illness on 11 April, four days into the holiday.

No symptoms

Health officials said the school received no reports of illness amongst the 14 and 15-year-old pupils who travelled to Spain but added that families and their doctors were being contacted as a precautionary measure.

A spokesman for NHS North West said: "Virtually all the children have now been contacted and there is no evidence that any of them have contracted the disease. Nor do the four teachers appear to have any symptoms.

"The incubation period for Legionnaires Disease is two to 10 days and the pupils will be outside this period by the time they return to school on Wednesday.

"Legionnaire's Disease is contracted by breathing in droplets of contaminated water and is not spread from person-to-person.

"There is no risk of pupils having contracted the disease from the coach drivers during the trip.

Investigations underway

"The disease can have very serious consequences for older people and for people with other underlying health problems.

"The symptoms are generally mild in younger people and teenagers."

Health officials have contacted the Spanish authorities and investigations were under way to identify the source of the infection.

Legionnaires' disease is most often contracted by inhaling mist from water sources such as whirlpool baths, showers, and cooling towers that are contaminated with Legionella pnuemophila bacteria, or other bacteria in the family Legionellaceae.

It particularly affects people with reduced immune defence and is fatal in up to 15% of cases.