Parents and GPs were warned last night to be vigilant for signs of meningitis as extra supplies of vaccines and antibiotics were taken into the south Wales town where the deadly brain disease has already claimed three victims.
A mass immunisation programme continued for 1,700 pupils and staff at three schools in Pontypridd, while health experts warned that incidents of the disease were running at a 50-year high.
As thousands of worried parents throughout south Wales and the rest of the country deluged emergency help lines, a spokeswoman for the Meningitis Research Foundation said: "Our help-lines have been going all night from very worried people. Figures show that there are peaks and troughs in notifications of meningococcal disease, and at the moment we are in a peak, with the highest number of cases for 50 years."
In the first three weeks of this year there were 440 notifications of the disease, as compared with 255 in 1998 and 304 in 1997. Children in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Kent are also being treated.
Although the highest incidence is found among children under one year, the latest outbreak has claimed the lives of a 66-year-old woman, a 55-year-old teacher and a 15-year-old boy. In Cardiff last night three further cases had been confirmed, and a further three possible cases identified.
In response to an emergency question in the House of Commons, the Welsh Health Minister, Mr Jon Owen Jones, told MPs: "This is a dreadful illness, swift and sometimes fatal in effect." But in a clear attempt to prevent wholesale public panic, he added: "It is also very treatable, if prompt diagnosis is made.".
As the Minister spoke, the father of one of the girls hit by meningitis criticised what he claimed had been a delay in vaccinating pupils.
Lisa Peart (15) often sat for lunch with Gareth Gould, who died nine days ago, the first of seven children initially involved in the Pontypridd outbreak.
Lisa was said to be greatly improved last night, having been critically ill on a life-support system. But her father, Mr Michael Peart, said pupils at Coedylan Comprehensive School should have been immunised at an earlier stage.
"My Lisa shared a table with this poor boy, Gareth, and I feel she should have been protected. As soon as it was known he had died, the children should have been vaccinated and given treatment. Lisa is now conscious and sitting up in bed, but we feel very lucky she is still with us," he said.
Stuart Mottram (16) remained in critical condition at Cardiff's University Hospital last night, after being struck with the same C strain of meningitis which killed his fellow-pupil, Gareth. Two other teenagers from Coedylan, and two 11-year-olds from the lower school are also being treated. The two schools, turned into mass immunisation centres yesterday, will now be closed until after next week's mid-term break.
Meanwhile, pupils and staff at the nearby Cardinal Newman School yesterday said prayers for their cookery teacher, Ms Lynn James (55), who died on Monday night from the same strain of the disease.
A 66-year-old woman also from Pontypridd died on the same day as Gareth Gould. The C strain is responsive to antibiotics and can be stopped with vaccines.
PA adds: The Conservative Party Welsh affairs spokesman, Mr Nigel Evans, last night demanded that the Welsh Secretary, Mr Alun Michael, turn his attention to the meningitis outbreak.
Referring to Mr Michael's attempt to be named Labour leader in the Welsh assembly, Mr Evans said: "The Welsh Secretary must now cut short his campaign tour of Wales and address this most critical of issues, as it is quite clear that his deputy is unable to provide any credible assurance that the government are in control of this situation."