The first time a doctor outlined the symptoms of swine flu to me in a Newstalk interview, alarm bells began to ring in my mind about the similarities between signs of the flu and those of meningitis.

Meningitis is a killer disease and it strikes in this country every year, mostly at winter time, with fatal results for some. I had bacterial meningitis when I was 14 and I was incredibly lucky to survive it unscathed, having lapsed into unconsciousness soon after I was admitted to hospital.

My memory of the initial 24 hours is sketchy but I do recall opening my eyes and seeing a priest administering the last rites while my parents stood by my bed.

During that first interview that I conducted with the doctor about swine flu, I asked whether it could be confused with meningitis and he said that worried parents should watch out for the tell-tale rash on the skin.

I am not a doctor, but having gone through it, I have always thought since that seeing the rash could well mean that it is too late and that some damage has already been done. The rash signifies septicaemia or blood poisoning and it can quickly lead to either severe disability or death.

The tragic case this week of five-year-old Ruby Ayoub, who was mistakenly diagnosed with swine flu when she was actually suffering from meningitis, was almost bound to happen in the midst of the swine flu outbreak.

When I caught the disease in 1990, there was a dose of flu rampaging through my local area and a three-year-old child had died as a result of misdiagnosis just days before I got sick.

It is not difficult to see how doctors would mistake the symptoms of meningitis because it is similar to flu in so many ways and yet it progresses so quickly that if it is not caught in time, it is a devastating illness.

In the first hours, a blinding headache is often the first sign, followed by an aversion to light and it is at that point that any doctor might say that the patient has flu. Within hours, however, meningitis can wreak untold damage on its victim.

I am a patron of the Meningitis Research Foundation and some of the survivors I have met in recent years will have to live their lives with harsh reminders of the disease. Deafness, blindness, loss of limbs and brain function are all common legacies of meningitis.

On the day that I fell ill in 1990, my mother was also told that I had a probable case of flu. Thankfully, her intuition led to insist that it was something more serious and it was her watchful eye and insistence that saved me that day.

I know that she would say to every parent to know the symptoms of meningitis thoroughly.

If a child is sick, insist that meningitis is completely ruled out by the doctor and keep a close eye for any rapid deterioration in the child's condition.

Ruby Ayoub's father has said that he knew nothing about meningitis before his beautiful daughter fell so seriously ill. That is an indictment of the lack of awareness of the disease and it behoves the HSE to remind parents, and doctors, about its existence and symptoms.

Every doctor and guidebook on the disease will tell you to check for the rash to confirm that meningitis is there, but in my experience, it is not always the best measure. Waiting for those red spots to appear might just mean that it is too late for your child and that hesitation could cost a life.

For information on meningitis and its symptoms go to www.meningitis.org For the 24-hour helpline ring 1800 41 33 44

- Claire Byrne