Three city women have died from meningitis and three men have contracted the disease since late December, officials said yesterday.

The higher-than-expected occurrence is not due to a single strain of meningitis, which infects the linings of the brain and spinal cord, the Health Department said.

And none of the six infected people “are known to have had contact with each other or to have shared common exposures,” said an alert sent out to doctors.

Symptoms include fever, headache, stiff neck and an altered mental state.