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Liz St George/Stuff
The teenager was at a St John youth camp on Motutapu Island when he was airlifted to hospital, where he died from meningoccal disease.
Family members of a teenager who died from meningococcal disease while on a St John youth cadet camp have been administered antibiotics by health authorities.
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The 16-year-old boy from Kerikeri would have been infectious for seven days, which means all who had been in close contact with him could be at risk.
The teen was at the Motutapu Outdoor Education Camp on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf when he was airlifted to hospital with suspected meningococcal disease on Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: Teen dies of suspected meningococcal disease after Auckland youth camp
Auckland City Hospital treated him but he died on Saturday night.
“This is very tragic for the family of the young man who died, and for everyone at the camp,” Northland Medical Officer of Health, Dr Simon Baker said on Monday.
“We acknowledge the young people, their families and the staff at the camp will also be feeling very upset and anxious.”
Northland Public Health Nurses had been talking to the teen’s family about who else might have been at risk in the previous seven days in which the young man was infectious, Baker said.
All those who were in close contact with the young man had been provided with antibiotics.
“Meningococcal disease is a serious and sometimes fatal disease, and can be difficult to diagnose, so we are providing information to the young people and parents so they can be alert for symptoms,” Baker said.
“It can look like the flu early on but quickly gets much worse. It is important to get early treatment.”
Camp senior manager Duncan Watson said the suspected diagnosis of meningococcal disease was immediately confirmed on the teen’s arrival to hospital.
“The boy did not have a rash at the camp, but did develop a rash in hospital.”
He received urgent medical treatment but sadly he died in hospital on Saturday night.
“This is an isolated incident, not one other person [at the camp] has the disease,” Watson said.
A second person was taken to hospital but it was confirmed he did not have the disease.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) sent staff to the camp to provide protective antibiotics and assess the risk to others.
The medical teams confirmed there was no one considered to be of high risk on the island.
Normal activities resumed on Sunday and the group was in pack-up mode on Monday.
The remaining 190 students at the camp would be returning from Motutapu Island on Monday on the scheduled ferry.
The family of the dead teen had requested privacy at this time, Watson said.
The camp is located at Administration Bay on the northern shores of Motutapu Island. It provided the venue for the St John camp.
Watson said in his 13 years of working at the camp there had been no serious outbreaks of illness there.
On its website, Auckland Regional Public Health Service says meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection, which causes two very serious illnesses: meningitis (inflammation of the brain membranes) and septicaemia (blood poisoning).
Meningococcal disease can look like the flu in its early stages, but it quickly worsens. It is important to get early treatment.
Symptoms include some or all of the following: fever, headache, vomiting, feeling sleepy/confused/delirious, loss of consciousness, joint pains, aching muscles, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights, rash – purple or red spots or bruises. Additional symptoms in babies and infants include being unsettled, floppy or irritable, refusing drinks/feeds and becoming harder to wake.
If you or anyone you know has these symptoms, don’t wait. Call a doctor or Healthline (0800 611 116) immediately.
There is an average of 29 cases of meningococcal disease annually in Auckland, however numbers vary from seven to 47 in 2017.
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