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Stacy Squires / Stuff
A 6-year-old boy died of suspected meningococcal disease. (File photo)
A Northland boy has died of suspected meningococcal disease, according to the local district health board.
The 6-year-old boy attended the Tautoro school near Kaikohe.
The school received a letter from Northland DHB on February 13, saying the boy potentially had the disease.
“A child attending the Tautoro school has been diagnosed with an illness that was potentially caused by meningococcal bacteria,” the letter read.
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The DHB informed the school that the risk of another case is small, but encouraged the family and staff to be alert to the “signs and symptoms” of their children.
The boy died on February 13 at Whangārei Hospital.
“Losing a student is a huge loss to our small school community and our students will certainly come back asking questions,” Principal Simeon Tracey said in a post on the school’s Facebook page.
Since the news, the school has cleaned the classrooms the boy visited, the office and the playground with an antibacterial solution, the publication said.
The school performed a tangi on February 15 with family, students, and friends.
Meningococcal disease is an infection caused by a bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis.
Symptoms of the illness can be similar to those in the early stages of the flu, but can worsen within hours or days.
Symptoms in children may include fever, crying, irritability, loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy, rashes all over the body, and a stiff neck.
For adults, these symptoms can include fever, headaches, vomiting, lethargy, a rash all over the body, and a stiff neck.
An earlier version of this story said that this was the first confirmed death from meningococcal disease in two years. This was wrong.
