Five children in the North Eastern Health Board area are now being treated for suspected meningitis. According to a health board spokeswoman, all are responding to treatment.
Four of the children were admitted this week to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. On Monday, an 11-month-old boy from Dundalk was hospitalised. He was treated for meningitis symptoms and is "doing well", the NEHB spokeswoman said.
A six-year-old girl, also from Dundalk, was admitted on Wednesday evening and was also said to be responding to treatment.
A three-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, both from Co Meath, were admitted on Tuesday. Another child, aged seven, was admitted with suspected meningitis but has since been discharged. The spokeswoman said the health board was not aware of the cases being connected.
Last week, two children from Drogheda, a five-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, students at a primary school in the town, were treated for meningococcal meningitis. Tests revealed that it was the C strain of the disease, for which there is a vaccine. Health board personnel vaccinated pupils at the school. The boy has recovered and the girl is "doing very well".
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Health Board area, there have been nine cases of meningitis so far in February.