Stillwater girl's death from meningitis a 'rare mystery,' doctor says

Article by: KEVIN GILES , Star Tribune
Updated: August 25, 2010 - 9:35 PM

The disease that killed Annie Bahneman, 7, was not contagious and is "very unusual" in healthy children.

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The meningitis that killed a 7-year-old Stillwater girl on Saturday wasn't the bacterial kind that can be transmitted from person to person, the state's deputy epidemiologist said Wednesday.

Annie Elizabeth Bahneman died at Children's Hospital in St. Paul just four days after she fell sick with vomiting and a headache, her parents, Chad and Bridget Bahneman, wrote on a CaringBridge website.

"It's a rare mystery that we're trying to figure out. Our hearts go out to the family," said Dr. Richard Danila of the Minnesota Department of Health.

While it's been determined that Annie's meningitis wasn't contagious, Danila said, tissue and spinal fluid samples were sent to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find the cause.

Samples were taken at the hospital before and after Annie's death, he said.

Citing state privacy laws, Danila declined to say whether Annie had other health problems that might have contributed to her death. But he said it's "very unusual" for healthy children to get sick from any form of meningitis.

Danila said Annie's parents made the right decision by seeking immediate medical attention when she became sick. Symptoms for meningitis -- headache, fever, neck stiffness and vomiting among them -- appear suddenly and can worsen rapidly, he said.

Annie would have been a first-grader at St. Croix Preparatory Academy in Washington County. Her favorite activities included gymnastics, art, swimming, reading and ice skating.

She also is survived by two brothers, Liam and Tommy.

Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Church of St. Michael, 611 S. 3rd St., Stillwater. Visitation will begin an hour earlier.

Donations to the Annie Bahneman Memorial Fund can be made at any Wells Fargo bank.

Kevin Giles • 651-735-3342