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A baby has been admitted to hospital in Wellington with meningococcal disease.
It is the sixth case of the disease in the capital this month, and the 10th this year.
Wellington Public Health said all of the cases of the illness have been in people under 20
Last week a 19-year old was found dead in his bed from suspected meningococcal.
Wellington student Penny Lake also died from meningococcal disease earlier this year.
Wellington Public Health is attributing the blip to the season
and a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses.
Another contributing factor could be that the flu and onset of
meningococcal disease present similar symptoms similar so people
can be slow to identify the seriousness of the illness, it
said.
The cases have been scattered across the region.
Northland has also had an outbreak of the disease - an 18-year-old Whangarei teenager died in Whangarei District Hospital's intensive care unit and a 14-month-old Ruakaka boy died in Starship Hospital in Auckland last month.
Northland health authorities announced earlier this month they were running a one-off meningococcal vaccination programme throughout the region.
Children, teenagers and young adults are most at risk of meningococcal disease.
Meningococcal disease symptoms include fever, headache, aversion
to light, vomiting, a rash that does not fade when pressed,
confusion and a decreased level of
consciousness.
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