No ongoing risk after school's suspected meningitis case

Parents at a Belfast school have been told there is no "ongoing risk" to pupils after a suspected case of meningitis was reported.

Two people have died from the disease after an outbreak in England, and the total number of suspected cases is now at 27.

There were concerns about a possible case of bacterial meningitis after a 16-year-old pupil from Bloomfield Collegiate School was hospitalised.

However, in a letter to parents, it was confirmed the pupil's illness was not due to a bacterial infection, but meningitis "attributable to another cause".

Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis. It can lead to blood poisoning or sepsis, and can affect the brain.

The update to parents from the Public Health Agency (PHA) has been seen by BBC News NI.

"We have now received additional clinical information, which indicates that the individual's illness is not due to meningococcal meningitis, but is a meningitis attributable to another cause," the letter said.

"This is reassuring news.

"This type of meningitis does not pose any additional risk to your child or others. No additional public health actions are required."

The PHA also said that there is "no evidence to suggest any ongoing risk to pupils or staff", and there was no longer a need to keep children off school.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC that the meningitis outbreak has spread rapidly "at an extent we haven't seen before".

The disease can be spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing, according to the NHS, and is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.

Two vaccines protect against the main causes of meningitis and septicaemia.

Meningitis B, known as MenB, is the strain of bacteria behind the outbreak of cases in young people in Kent.

The MenB vaccine is recommended for babies aged eight weeks, followed by a second dose at 12 weeks and a booster at one year.

It was added to the UK NHS childhood immunisation programme for babies born on or after 1 July 2015.

The MenACWY vaccine offers protection against four types of bacteria that can cause meningitis - meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y.

Pupils in Year 11 are automatically offered the vaccine in school, with a second chance to have it again in Year 12, if they missed out the first time.

If you are aged 25 or under, at university for the first time and have not yet had the MenACWY vaccination, you can ask your GP for the vaccine.

The PHA said if your child missed a vaccination, contact your GP practice to book an appointment.

Generally, it takes a couple of weeks to get the fullest protection from a vaccine and some require booster doses.