Wellington, Jan 19 NZPA - Five New Zealanders are taking a course of antibiotics after being exposed to an Australian woman who died from meningococcal meningitis.

The woman died in Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after recently returning from New Zealand.

The five, from the Waikato and mid-central regions, were contacted by public health services over the past two days, Radio New Zealand reported.

They were offered treatment as a preventative measure in case of exposure to the disease.

Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that causes either meningitis, where the lining of the brain and spinal cord become inflamed, or septicaemia (blood poisoning).