THE family and a close friend of a Sutton school pupil have been given a course of antibiotics after health officials confirmed that she had contracted meningitis.

The 11-year-old child, who has not been named, was sent home from Sutton County Primary School suffering from some of the symptoms of the disease.

Letters have been sent out to parents informing them of the incident and this week North Yorkshire Health Authority confirmed it had taken action to stop the spread of meningococcal meningitis.

'Close contacts of the child, in particular family members and a close friend, were all treated with a two-day course of antibiotics,' said Dr Phil Kirby, the county's consultant in public health medicine.

'We are treating this as a confirmed case on clinical grounds, even though we are waiting for the results of further tests to come through.'

Sutton CP School headteacher, Philip Sant, said letters of reassurance had been sent out to all parents of pupils.

This is the second time in three months that the school has been faced with a meningitis scare.

Last November a schoolgirl was rushed to hospital with symptoms, but turned out not to have the disease.

Meningitis affects thousands of people in the UK every year.

It attacks the membranes covering the brain and symptoms include fever, severe headache, a bruise-like rash and a dislike to bright lights.

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