A cleaner from York's Archbishop Holgate School has died from blood poisoning caused by the brain bug meningococcus.

Experts today stressed there was no risk to any of the 500-plus children at the school because the woman had been off work for some time with flu.

The short incubation period of the meningococcus bug, which develops within a matter of a few days, meant she had been away with the flu for too long for any of the children to be at risk.

North Yorkshire public health consultant Dr Will Patterson said the woman, who has not been named, had been rushed to York District Hospital on February 16 after being taken seriously ill, but had subsequently died.

Her condition had later been confirmed as meningococcal septicaemia, he said.

Dr Patterson said staff at the school had been notified as a matter of courtesy.

But he stressed: "There was no risk at all to any of the children."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.