Rishabh Tandon, 20, an accounting intern at Monash University, was diagnosed with the disease on April 18.

Two days later, the State Government announced that the Royal Melbourne Hospital would become the first accredited site in Victoria able to test adults for a possible genetic predisposition for meningococcal or meningitis.

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the simple blood test would reduce the waiting time for results by two months and cut the cost by $225. Previously, such tests had to be sent to NSW.

"Depending on the results, this means patients can receive a vaccination to protect them from the illnesses sooner, they can begin antibiotic treatment sooner, and they receive urgent treatment if they present with any of the symptoms." Meningococcal is a bacterial infection that can develop rapidly, and is fatal in about 10 per cent of cases.

Mr Tandon said that if tests results showed that he had a genetic predisposition to the disease, his family could also be tested.

He will take the test in about a month once he has fully recovered. "I was pretty scared initially because its a deadly disease. For 99 per cent of cases it is very serious, but I was in that 1 per cent, so I was very relieved."

Royal Melbourne Hospital clinical immunology deputy director Dr Karl Bleasel said that once a person was identified as being high risk, they were provided with a treatment plan that lowered the risk of initially contracting the disease, and recurrent infections.