An 18-month-old boy has died after contracting what is suspected to be meningococcal disease in Adelaide over the weekend.
Meningococcal is an acute bacterial infection that can cause death within hours if not recognised and treated in time.
Mason Harvey Marks was airlifted from Mannum to Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital by MedSTAR helicopter on Sunday, but tragically, lost his life that same day, the Advertiser reports.
He was tested for meningococcal but the results have not yet been released.
“Mason was an amazing little man who will forever be in everyone’s hearts,” his mother, Caitlyn Marks, has said in a statement. “He was taken way too soon by a horrible disease that took his life in a matter of seven hours.”
Mason’s aunt has now started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise funds for the little boy’s funeral.
“No words can begin to describe the heartache and sorrow we are experiencing at the sudden loss of Mason Harvey,” she writes. “He was a beautiful, bubbly little boy.”
In just one day, the campaign has raised $9170 of their initial $5000 goal.
Mason’s is the third reported meningococcal case in South Australia this year, with 27 total cases reported in 2016.
