Caution Urged For NSW Festival Punters After Meningococcal Case Confirmed

Organisers of the annual Burning Seed event in rural NSW have released a cautionary statement to attendees this past long weekend's festival in Matong State Forest after health authorities confirmed the presence of an individual afflicted with infectious disease meningococcal.

As The Daily Advertiser notes, event staff have moved to quell any potential worry among the weekend's revellers with a statement conceding that "a participant at this year's Burning Seed was confirmed to have meningococcal disease" but reassuring everyone that "the NSW Public Health Unit has given us fantastic support by identifying all the person's close contacts and undertaking the relevant checks".

"There is a low risk for other participants, but if you begin to feel unwell and experience any of the symptoms … please go to your nearest hospital for further help."

Burning Seed — Australia's spin-off regional Burning Man event — has released a fact sheet about the disease — which, FYI, can give way to even more serious afflictions such as meningitis and/or septicaemia (blood poisoning) — readily available for download, but if you were in attendance and need a quick check-off for your meningococcal-symptoms bingo card (or you're just a habitual WebMD masochist), some of the "non-specific" signs may include "sudden onset of fever, headache, neck stiffness, joint pain, a rash of red-purple spots or bruises, dislike of bright lights, nausea, and vomiting".

Those who are also suffering from "persistent fever, irritability, drowsiness or lethargy" are advised to seek medical treatment urgently; you can read the full rundown of helpful information here.

By all other accounts, this year's Burning Seed, which ran from 30 September to 5 October, was a runaway success — and, hey, at least there weren't an impossible amount of bugs with which to contend.

See the event's website for more information.