A DOCTOR has warned of the difficulties in spotting meningitis symptoms after his own son was struck down by the deadly virus.

Although Malcolm Johnston's boy Austin is now fighting fit but the consultant radiologist is warning other parents of the need to stay vigilant at all times.

Dr Johnston and his family were on holiday in Portugal when Austin fell ill.

The then seven-month-old had been under the weather for a few days with a bunged up nose and a temperature.

He had become irritable, was refusing food and it had been difficult to get him to settle.

Although the symptoms fitted meningitis, they are also the same as those for a common cold so the immediate link wasn't made.

The couple's oldest daughter Annabel, now nearly five, had a bout of diarrhoea and Dr Johnston and his wife Geraldine, 38, assumed the youngsters were both suffering the same thing.

However when Austin started vomiting in the middle of the night, the alarm bells rang and he was taken to hospital.

Dr Johnston, 39, who works at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and Worthing Hospital, said: “We took him to the local hospital but it was only a small one so he had to go by ambulance to another one 20 miles away.

“He had various tests but doctors were not convinced at first. Then he suddenly took a turn for the worse and went white and floppy.

“With a rising panic, I realised he was showing all the signs of imminent septic shock, which can lead to organ failure.

“He had more tests and lumbar puncture which showed he had the pneumococcal strain of the virus – the most complex and life-threatening form.

“It was a terrifying time as because of my medical background I knew just how serious this was.

“It was a devastating experience to find myself on the other side of the fence for once.”

For full report see today's Argus.