Oct. 11, 1997

BRITTANY MADORE: Officials expect to know by Sunday whether meningococcal bacteria caused her quick death.

Bacteria suspected in death of girl, 16

HEALTH: El Modena junior Brittany Madore died Wednesday, one day after suffering apparent symptoms of meningococcemia.

By JEFF COLLINS
The Orange County Register

SILVERADO CANYON — Brittany Madore seemed in perfect health when she left for school about 7 a.m. Tuesday.

By about 3 p.m. Wednesday, the El Modena High School junior was dead, apparently from a swift-acting meningococcal bacteria.

If tests confirm that diagnosis, Madore, 16, will be one of at least three Orange County victims of meningococcal bacteria this year.

``It's unbelievable, and it's not right,'' Susan Madore, 48, said of the death of her youngest daughter Friday at their Silverado Canyon home. ``This was a bad thing. I don't think God decided this should happen.''

Orange County public-health officials said they would know by Sunday what caused Brittany Madore's death.

But the symptoms led officials to speculate that she had contracted a deadly meningococcal infection that contaminated her bloodstream. Officials don't know how she got the disease.

The disease may be similar to the nine cases of meningococcemia that struck Orange County last winter, killing two.

Two classmates at a Costa Mesa high school were among the victims, although health officials warned Friday that there's little danger of an outbreak from the latest case. The disease is spread by a patient's saliva through kissing or sharing food.

Madore's death Wednesday prompted El Modena High School officials to send fliers home and to provide counselors and psychologists to help students deal with the grief.

``Young people feel especially vulnerable at times like this,'' Principal Nancy Murray said. Absences were about normal for a Friday, she said, adding that reports that the disease is not easily transmittable gave parents and students a lot of relief.

Brittany Madore's mother, sister and family friends gathered in the living room of the Madores' rustic-style home in eastern Orange County. The girl's photos and artwork were scattered on a coffee table, and her pet cockatiel, Danielle, flitted about the wood-paneled room.

A dancer who worked out and took long walks in the canyons, Brittany Madore's only health problems were occasional sinus headaches, her mother said.

On Tuesday she left for school feeling fine, but called her mother from the nurse's office about 10:15 a.m. seeking to go home sick, Susan Madore recalled. About 3:30 p.m., she called her mother at work and said she was having chills. By the time her mother got home from work, Brittany Madore was nauseous and vomiting.

Susan Madore made a bed for her on the living-room couch because the girl was too weak to climb the stairs to her bedroom. She then phoned an after-hours health clinic to ask about the symptoms of meningitis.

``I remembered stories about meningitis, and how it started out as the flu,'' Susan Madore said. She decided, however, that her daughter only had a mild flu — until the following morning when Brittany Madore went blind and her face, chest and legs broke out in purple splotches.

She rushed her daughter to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Orange, which transferred the teen to Children's Hospital of Orange County. After nine hours of intensive care, her heart stopped, Susan Madore said.

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Staff writer Dennis Love contributed to this report.

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