The latest outbreak comes just days after a surge in cases in Pontypridd, just ten miles away.

Another unrelated case of meningitis has emerged in the south Wales valleys and a student has died of the disease in Brighton after a two-week fight for life.

One boy is "critically ill" in intensive care at East Glamorgan Hospital. Doctors believe he may have the meningococcal form of the brain disease.

The other schoolboy is described as "stable" on a general ward.

The two sixth formers attend Y Pant comprehensive school, near Talbot Green.

Dr Meirion Evans, consultant in communicable diseases, said plans are under way to give antibiotics to 1,000 pupils and staff there as a precautionary measure.

Pupils have been given vaccination consent forms to enable the mass immunisation to take place on Friday.

School governor and local Labour councillor Jonathan Huish said the school and health authorities had taken prompt action to organise antibiotics and inoculations.

"I am convinced we can stop this before it spreads. During half-term there will be monitoring in place to make sure that any further cases are picked up."

Meanwhile, doctors have confirmed they are treating a one-year-old baby for the pneumococcal form of the disease at East Glamorgan Hospital in Church Village.

The baby is from Church Village just four miles from Pontypridd where three people have died from the meningococcal form of the disease and another seven are in hospital suffering from symptoms.

One, 16-year-old Stuart Mottram, was reported to be improving on Wednesday after being in critical condition in Cardiff's University Hospital. The other six are stable.

Health officials say the latest case is not connected to the Ponypridd outbreak, which was designated as a public health emergency.

More than 1,700 pupils and staff at Coedylan Upper and Lower schools and at Trerobert Primary School have been given antibiotics.

Offiicals have decided to close Trerobert Primary School until after half term, which begins next week.

Only six pupils turned up for school yesterday, after immunisation against meningitis took place on Tuesday.

The board of governors decided to close the school in a meeting yesterday afternoon.

There have been two cases of meningitis at the school, both are recovering in hospital.

Student death

Meanwhile, Ludovic Blot, a 20-year-old French exchange student from Grenoble studying at the University of Sussex in Brighton, has died from meningitis. He was struck down with the disease on January 28.

He is believed to have contracted C-strain meningococcal meningitis but doctors are still waiting for test results to confirm this.

No other cases of the disease have been reported at the university and it is believed to have been an isolated incident.

Mr Blot's parents were at his bedside when he died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton

The UK is now suffering the highest number of meningitis cases in 50 years.

There have been several meningitis outbreaks in Wales in recent years, including some cases in north Wales last month and last year and an outbreak at Cardiff university in 1996.

The south Wales outbreak has slightly different symptoms because it is a different strain of meningitis C.