South Australian man dies after contracting meningococcal disease

The family of a man who died from a rare but highly contagious disease has urged people to stay vigilant, warning his symptoms were initially similar to the flu.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains images of a person who is deceased.

A South Australian man died of the rare meningococcal disease after he was rushed to hospital in Adelaide this week.

Luke Wingfield, 36, woke up on Tuesday morning with a fever before he was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he died on Wednesday night.

Tania Wingfield, the deceased’s sister, said the experience felt like a “bad dream.”

Luke Wingfield died of the meningococcal disease in Adelaide this week. Picture: Facebook.

“It just breaks my heart along with my parents and my siblings,” Tania told Seven News.

“Right now it just feels like a dream, like a bad nightmare that we cannot wake up from,” he said.

“Is this really happening? Is he really gone?”

Tania said her brother was healthy and a non-smoker, and that his initial symptoms were similar to the flu.

“He looked after himself, he was into fitness, he ate well, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t do drugs” she said.

Luke Wingfield’s siblings Tania and Lee speak to the media after their brother’s death. Picture: Channel Seven

Meningococcal disease is a rare bacterial disease, the symptoms of which include a fever, headache, neck stiffness, joint pain and a rash.

According to the Australian Government Institute of Health and Welfare the disease was responsible for the deaths of 396 people, 95 per cent of who were children, from 1997 to 2016.

Lee Wingfield, Luke’s brother, urged people to remain vigilant.

“Seek medical attention right away,” Lee said.

“Don’t muck around with this - it’s too dangerous,” he said.

Multiple people close to Luke have reportedly been told to take antibiotics as a precaution.

In a touching tribute, Luke’s cousin, Matthew Coulthard, wore a black armband when he made his debut for Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

Lee Wingfield died suddenly of the rare meningococcal disease. Picture: Channel Seven / Facebook