A NURSERY owner today spoke about the meningitis outbreak which has killed one child and left another seriously ill and said: "It just came out of nowhere."

Anne Gleasure said staff at the Little People of Colne Nursery were devastated as it was revealed that children and employees were being given antibiotics in a bid to prevent the disease spreading.

A two-year-old boy died of meningococcal septicaemia, the blood poisoning form of the disease, over the weekend and a girl of the same age is poorly in Burnley General hospital today.

East Lancashire Health Authority's public health department is awaiting the results of tests to discover whether the children contracted Meningitis C, for which a vaccination is available, or the B strain of the disease.

The private nursery, in Derby Street, remained open today and letters have been sent out to parents advising them of the symptoms of meningitis.

The owner said: "We were all devastated at the news on Monday morning when we came into work. The children had been playing happily on Friday afternoon and this just came out of nowhere.

"The staff and myself are thinking of the families whose children have contracted this virus."

She said if they were advised to close they would do so and said they were following the guidance of Doctor Raj Pura Arif. Parents dropping their children off at the nursery this morning did not want to comment and said it was too sensitive an issue to be talked about.

A resident in Derby Street, Colne, said she was heartbroken at the news of the outbreak because her four-year-old daughter went to the nursery last year.

She said: "I found out about the outbreak yesterday and it has really frightened me, my little girl has had the Meningitis C inoculation, but there are other strains of it that cannot be inoculated against which is worrying.

"I know quite a few of the staff at the nursery and I know they will all be devastated, it is all such a shock."

Doctor Roberta Marshall, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control for East Lancashire Health Authority said: "The risk of any further cases occurring in children attending the nursery is extremely small.

"However as a precaution we are offering all staff and children at the nursery preventive antibiotics."

Children, staff and immediate close family contacts are being advised to see their GP today for a prescription for antibiotics.

In its very early stages meningococcal infection cannot be distinguished from flu but the disease will progress, within hours or a couple of days and the patient can become seriously ill.

Parents are being warned of the symptoms which include rash, drowsiness, fever, vomiting, cold hands and feet, rapid breathing, severe headache, stiff neck and dislike of bright lights.

In babies the symptoms may include fever, refusing feeds, vomiting, a high-pitched cry, child lethargic and difficult to wake, cold hands and feet.

Not all these symptoms appear together, but if these do appear, a doctor should be consulted immediately.

Public Health doctor Rajpura Arif has said there is a very low risk of anyone else at the nursery contracting meningitis.

But, he said it was his job to further reduce that risk by prescribing anti-biotics to all staff and children at the Little People Nursery.

He added: "If we only have one case of meningitis we administer antibiotics to any household contact.

"With this case we decided to extend antibiotics to all the children and staff in the nursery. We've given this information to the parents and staff and reassured them the risks are very low.

"Everyone who needs antibiotics is advised to go to their GP with the letters we've issued."

Anyone requiring information on meningococcal disease can contact the National Meningitis Trust 24 hour helpline on 0845 6000 800 or NHS Direct on 0845 54 647.