Soon after, the kind and compassionate Tautoro School pupil, affectionately known as "Bubbies", was dead. However, she was quick to note the school throat-swabbing programme, which targeted rheumatic fever, was never designed to detect or prevent meningococcal disease. Told it was a different son who was known to feign sickness to get out of school, Tui wasn't overly concerned. Meningococcal disease facts:Meningococcal germs are carried in the back of the throat of about one in 10 people at any one time but only very rarely cause illness. Children who have previously received meningococcal vaccination can still get meningococcal disease because the vaccine does not protect against all types of meningococcal bacteria.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 30, 2021 17:28 UTC