Sweden’s health authority has called on hundreds of young campers returning back from an event in Japan to get medical checkups over fears that they may have contracted meningitis in a suspected outbreak of the disease in the Asian country.

The Swedish Public Health Agency announced that at least one Swedish child, who had participated in the World Scout Jamboree, possibly contracted the disease at the camping trip.

Authorities urged all Swedish participants to consult a doctor immediately upon return from Japan.

The health agency urged them to visit a physician for anti-bodies in a bid to prevent the widening of the extremely contagious disease.

Meningitis has been defined by the United States National Library of Science (USNLS) as “a bacterial infection of the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord that most commonly affects children and teenagers.”

Three cases of meningitis among campers who returned back home from Japan have been reported in Scotland, the agency said, adding that it is in touch with relevant authorities from there over the issue.

Meanwhile, the Scout Association of Japan (SAJ) said it was aware of the cases in Scotland, adding that it had warned others who had camped near the Scottish scouts, including groups from France, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Finland and Japan.

Every year, over 30,000 scouts from around the world usually attend the July 28 to August 8 event in Kirara-hama in western Japan, including 1,900 from Sweden.