Man who died last week found to have meningococcal disease

An Adelaide man, 29, who died last week was carrying meningococcal disease. Close contacts are now on antibiotics.

An Adelaide man, 29, who died last week has been posthumously identified as having meningococcal disease.

Multiple people who had close contact with the man have been identified and five of them are being treated with antibiotics as a precaution.

Health information about the disease is being distributed to the other contacts, in accordance with national protocols. The posthumous diagnosis is the first case of meningococcal disease reported in South Australia this year. It was identified as the W strain.

While it was confirmed the man had the infectious disease, authorities have not confirmed it was the cause of his death.

Five cases of the disease were reported in SA last year.