the number of cases of the deadly form of meningitis in Oxfordshire has trebled during the past two months.

A total of 21 people have been struck down with meningococcal infection - the dangerous form of meningitis - in December and January, compared with seven in the same period last year.

But remarkably none of this year's cases proved fatal.

Health authority consultant Dr Kathy Cann said an increase in flu appeared to influence the number of cases of meningitis.

"The most common group affected are the under fives, but there's a second peak in young adults, linked to the fact that there's a lot of kissing going on in that age group," she said. She put Oxfordshire's high survival rate down to the success of publicity campaigns alerting the public to the symptoms, and doctors treating suspected cases with antibiotics at an early stage.

Part of the rise in numbers could be attributed to the fact that more cases of suspected meningitis were being recorded.

Dr Cann stressed: "It's still a very rare disease.

"We have four cases per hundred thousand people in Oxfordshire."

Story date: Thursday 28 January

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