PARENTS were alerted to a potential meningitis outbreak at a school after a boy was admitted to hospital with the illness. The boy, a year 11 pupil at Liskeard School and Community College, was taken to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, suffering from bacterial meningitis – an infection in the brain which has the potential to develop very quickly and is fatal in about ten per cent of cases. The school issued a letter to all parents and guardians warning them to be wary of any symptoms of the disease. Head teacher Alan Sedgley said: 'We were confident that the level of risk was low but we wanted to inform people of what was happening. 'It was important to alert parents to the symptoms and to reassure them that we were following the right procedures.' Liskeard School and Community College contacted Cornwall's health protection unit, which is part of the Health Protection Agency – an organisation which provides advice to prevent an outbreak, or possible outbreak, of serious disease. The school told parents: 'There is no reason to make any change in the school routine and no reason for children to be kept at home.' The boy is believed to now be recovering at his home.
