WHEN he was just six years old, Adam Tuffrey nearly lost his life after contracting bacterial meningitis – the deadliest strain of the disease.

Fortunately the Bournemouth School pupil made a full recovery and he has been making a song and dance of it ever since – literally.

For the talented musician has raised £9,000 for the Meningitis Trust by hosting and performing in a number of musical and variety shows over the past few years.

But now he faces his biggest fundraising challenge so far. Adam, now 16, plans to raise the total to £25,000 in recognition of the charity’s 25th anniversary.

He is holding a Music 4 Meningitis concert at the Bournemouth International centre on Saturday October 8 which is described as a family show with a range of music for everyone (see bic.co.uk/events).

Meningitis kills more UK children under the age of five than any other infectious disease.

Adam’s mother Trudy has previously told the Echo how her son woken early one Saturday morning in Februry 2001 with painful joints and a high temperature.

He was taken to the emergency doctor's surgery the next morning and was told that he had a virus and sent home with some pain killers.

“I had a leaflet about meningitis and I kept checking the symptoms. He was very hot and had a headache but he didn't have a rash at this point,” says Trudy.

By late afternoon a rash started to appear on Adam’s legs and that’s when Trudy did the glass test (a rash that doesn’t fade under pressure is a sign of meningococcal septicaemia).

“You think it can’t really be happening because we’d been told three times that it’s just a virus but I just knew I wasn’t happy.”

This time a doctor came out to the family home in Muscliff and within minutes an ambulance arrived.

“They gave him some antibiotics straight away and an ambulance came to the house – then it was all guns blazing to Poole Hospital,” says Trudy.

“By the time we got to the hospital the lights were starting to affect him, he had been sick and the rash was spreading.

“I honestly thought this is it – I just didn’t think he was going to make it.”

It was touch and go at first and Adam was even confined to a wheelchair for a while because he couldn’t walk.

Eleven days later he was finally allowed home and over the following few months he went on to make a full recovery.

A spokesman for the Meningitis Trust says the disease can be very difficult to diagnose, as many of the symptoms are similar to flu or other viral infections.

“The main message we want to get across is – don’t wait for a rash to appear. You don’t necessarily get all the symptoms together.

“We want to encourage people to trust their instincts.

“If they feel something is wrong, don’t be afraid to get medical help.”

Factfile

• Every year around 2,500 cases of bacterial meningitis, and possibly double that of viral meningitis, occur in the UK.

• Ten per cent of cases result in death. Fifteen per cent of those who survive meningitis are left with severe after-effects such as brain damage, hearing, sight loss and loss of limbs.

• Most cases happen in winter months when people’s immune symptoms are low.