Two children from Portmarnock, Co Dublin, admitted to Beaumont Hospital at the weekend with suspected meningitis, appear to have the milder viral form of the disease, according to the Eastern Regional Health Authority's Department of Public Health.
Dr Mary Cronin, the ERHA's public health specialist, said viral meningitis was not as serious as bacterial meningitis. The children, pupils at Portmarnock Community School, were said to be making "an excellent recovery".
The symptoms of bacterial meningitis are headache, nausea, vomiting, discomfort in bright light, neck stiffness and a distinctive rash which does not disappear on pressure.