North Qld toddler fighting meningococcal

A 15-month-old boy is in a north Queensland hospital battling meningococcal disease.

The toddler's mother took him to a Mackay emergency department on Wednesday after he showed symptoms of the potentially fatal disease.

He was rushed to Townsville Hospital and the hospital has confirmed he's now in a stable condition in their intensive care unit.

Townsville Hospital's Dr Steven Donohue said family members had been given antibiotics to minimise the chance of the disease being passed to others.

"There was limited close contact with others and the risk to contacts and the broader community is very low," he said.

Meningococcal disease is a rare, life-threatening illness caused by a bacterial infection of the blood or membranes lining the spinal cord and brain.

A young child died from meningococcal disease in Western Australian in September.