Michelle's baby son Blake died of meningitis earlier this year. She has a warning for everyone.

Sydney nurse Michelle Murrell is warning parents to be aware of the symptoms of meningitis after losing her baby boy earlier this year.

Murrell’s son, Blake, had been struggling with colds and bugs all year, so when he fell sick in August, she assumed it was another bout of common illness.

"He’d just got over one thing and he started vomiting, so I assumed it was another daycare thing," Murrell told 9News, given most of Blake’s sickness had been picked up at daycare.

"We didn’t really think it was much more than a normal little bug," she added.

Soon after though, she spotted signs of meningitis, an illness where the fluid and membranes in the brain and spinal cord become inflamed. One of the early signs is stiffness in the neck, which Blake began exhibiting.

"I noticed him holding his head funny and neck stiffness is one of the things you think of with meningitis," Murrell explained.

Blake with his parents, Michelle and John-Paul, and his brother, Lachlan. Image: Supplied.

They rushed Blake to the hospital, where it was confirmed he had bacterial meningitis. 

At that point, he was very dehydrated and had started having seizure-like activity.

"I wasn't sure at first but now looking back I can see [that he'd been having them at home]," Murell told Yahoo News.

"It wasn’t your typical body shaking which is what everybody thinks a seizure is, it was just jerkiness in his arm or leg," she recalled.

While doctors tended to him immediately, Murrell and her husband, John-Paul, were soon told their son could not be saved.

"There was a bit of hope at first... then they said, 'There’s been too much damage, there’s nothing else we can do'," Murrell said.

Blake died about a week later, and was farewelled at a service at Leppington, close to his native Harrington Park.

"I was in shock for the most part. I kept thinking, 'Things like this don’t happen to people you know'," she reflected.

"He was a cheeky little thing, a happy little boy, always giggling."

Meningitis can be caused by a virus or by bacteria. Bacterial meningitis often comes from meningococcal disease, which Blake had contracted.

While vaccinations cover most strains of the virus, they don’t always stop the risk, leaving infants as a high-risk group for the disease.

The Department of Health has recorded 86 meningococcal cases this year.

If caught in time, cases of bacterial meningitis can be treated with the use of antibiotics.

If left untreated, it can be fatal, or lead to disability.

Murrell is now encouraging parents to be aware of the symptoms of meningitis.

According to the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital, signs of the disease can include fever, vomiting, seizures, headaches, drowsiness or a stiff neck. Babies in particular might show signs of irritability, and the soft spot on the top of their heads (the fontanelle) might bulge or look very full.

Children might also develop a rash of 'small bright red spots or purple spots or bruises that do not blanch when you press on them'.

Often, this rash is the last sign of bacterial meningococcal, so parents are urged to seek medical attention if they spot any of the other signs before this rash develops. 

Feature Image: Supplied.