Three people in the South Island who contracted meningococcal disease are either recovering well or completely recovered, health authorities say.
The head of Christchurch-based engineering and contracting company Fulton Hogan, Bill Perry, died suddenly of a meningococcal infection on Saturday.
Three others - including one who was in a meeting with Mr Perry - have since contracted the aggressive disease.
Community and Public Health today confirmed the three were either recovering well or had completely recovered.
Mr Perry's colleague, a man in his 40s, is recovering well in Dunedin Hospital and a woman, also in her 40s, was recovering in Christchurch Hospital.
The third victim, a baby, had now been discharged from Dunedin Hospital.
Health authorities have determined the woman and baby did not have links with the two men.
Canterbury Medical Officer of Health Alistair Humphrey said it was a credit to Community and Public Health teams for ruling out links between the cases so quickly.
There was also no reason at present to launch a vaccination programme against meningococcal disease, he said.
If people had further concerns then they should discuss these with their family doctor.
"Meningococcal disease is not easily transmitted from person to person. It's transmitted only by close personal contact that allows the bacteria to pass from the nose and throat of one person to another."
The meningococcus bacteria are normally present in the nose and throat of 10-20 percent of the population and are frequently passed from person to person without causing harm.
On rare occasions they may penetrate the body defences to cause an "invasive" life threatening illness. This can usually be treated successfully with antibiotics if the condition is diagnosed early.
