Cecilia Pinter had followed the case of a 16-year-old Chicago girl’s death last week from meningitis, so when her own 16-year-old daughter became sick early this week, she didn’t think her symptoms were similar enough to be overly worried.
The girl, Renee, did not have a stiff neck or a rash–typically related to meningitis–and even as her temperature climbed to 104 degrees, those symptoms didn’t surface.
But by Monday afternoon, after the Norwood Park Township girl vomited and developed purple spots on her skin, the family took her to Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago.
Her condition quickly worsened, and she died Monday night.
An autopsy tentatively revealed that the sophomore at Maine Township High School South in Park Ridge died of an extremely rare disease called Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, which usually arises from the same bacteria as meningitis but does not develop in the same fashion.
That the two deaths from related infections in three days were apparently not connected only partly calmed fears and confusion Tuesday about an illness that scientists themselves little understand.
The death of the first girl, Sheri Smith, a Native American of the Ho-Chunk nation and a St. Gregory’s High School student, was determined to be from meningitis–a bacterial infection that causes swelling of tissues around the brain and spine.
But, in Pinter’s case, the infection spread to her bloodstream, cutting off the blood supply to her adrenal glands and other vital organs and leading to massive shock, said Dr. Stephanie Smith, director of communicable disease control for the Cook County Department of Public Health.
Although final tests still need to be conducted in both cases, health officials said it appeared the two girls were infected with Neisseria meningitidis, the bacteria that can cause both diseases.
More Top Picks Toaster Ovens
Pinter and her family were celebrating her winning a place on the varsity cheerleading squad at Maine South when the girl became sick Sunday with a scratchy throat and fever in their home.
A skilled student and popular classmate, Pinter loved animals, in-line skating and listening to music, according to family friends.
“She was very popular and a very good student. They called her the peacemaker,” said Mary Biancalana, a friend who served as the family’s spokeswoman. “She never had a bad word against anyone, and she would always stop the other kids if they were badmouthing someone.”
As news of the two deaths spread throughout the area, health officials tried to reassure parents that meningococcal infections are not highly contagious and that, although rare, a handful of fatal cases are reported in the area each year.
Each year, about 140 cases of meningitis appear in Illinois, but only about 10 percent prove fatal.
It remains largely a mystery why the bacteria, which is carried in the nasal passages of about 5 percent of the population, attacks only a small number of people, even though the victims can be in close contact with hundreds of others in the same environment–such as at a high school.
“Why some people are more at risk than others isn’t entirely understood,” said Bruce Gellin, a medical officer in infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
For equally unclear reasons, spring is the prime time for meningococcal infections. Children and infants are particularly susceptible, doctors believe, because they have not developed an immunity from exposure to the bacteria.
Carl Langkop, chief of communicable disease control with the Illinois Department of Public Health, said some people have inherited flaws in the immune system that make them more at risk.
Health officials were planning to send representatives to Maine South to explain the illness to parents and were cautioning that it was unlikely secondary infections in others would occur.
Infection only occurs through direct contact with nose and throat secretions. An infected person can spread the disease through kissing, coughing or sneezing directly on someone’s face or by sharing drinking straws, cups, cigarettes or anything else placed in the mouth.
Those who came in close contact with Pinter were advised to take a preventive dose of antibiotics.
“I’m kind of scared about it, even though I never really hung around her that much,” said Jessica Luburich, a junior at Maine South. “It’s a little freaky.”
Visitation will be held Thursday for Pinter at Cumberland Funeral Chapels, 8300 Lawrence Ave., Norridge. Services for Smith were held Tuesday afternoon at St. Gregory’s.