The Hunter region has recorded its first confirmed case of meningococcal disease for 2017 with a man in a stable condition in hospital.
Close contacts of the patient have been given precautionary antibiotics.
There were 10 cases of the disease in the Hunter New England Health region last year and nine cases in 2015.
The community is urged to be on the lookout for symptoms such as pain in the legs, cold hands and feet and abnormal skin colour, with a high fever, headache, neck stiffness and a rash of reddish-purple spots developing later.
“Meningococcal infection does not spread easily. It is spread by secretions from the nose and throat of a person who is carrying it and close and prolonged contact is needed to pass it on. It does not appear to be spread through saliva or by sharing drinks, food or cigarettes,” said Public Health Physician Dr Kathryn Taylor.
