Meningitis drugs blunder

All pupils at the school were offered antibiotics

Doctors are hoping to finish giving second doses of antibiotics to 80 children at Tiverton High School on Friday after it emerged a mistake had been made over the mixture.

Pupils were given antibiotics on Tuesday after the death of a girl from meningitis the day before.

But some of the children who were given the drug in liquid form received a dose that had not been properly mixed.

Letters have now been sent to the parents of all those affected by the mistake, and the school hopes that by lunchtime all will have been given a second dose.

Laboratory tests showed the cause of the girl's death was meningococcal meningitis.

It is the third case of meningitis in the Tiverton area within the last two weeks.

Two boys, one also from Tiverton High School, were admitted to hospital with the disease. Both have since been discharged.

Health officials in Devon also confirmed on Thursday that two children from Kingsbridge Primary School and West Alvington Primary School have been admitted to hospital with suspected meningitis.

It is not thought the cases are connected.

The Devon Health Protection Unit is stressing that the number of cases of meningitis reported this year so far is not unusual.