A FOUR -YEAR OLD girl has died from meningitis only six hours after being admitted to hospital.

And today her grieving mum praised hospital staff who tried for 40 minutes to revive her daughter.

Little Charlotte Rogers, is the second child in a week in Padiham to contract the disease.

Two-year-old Cameron Howard, who attends the same nursery as Charlotte's brother Joseph, is fighting his way back to health at St James's Hospital, Leeds.

The children contracted different forms of bacterial meningitis. Cameron has meningococcal which can be passed from one person to another, but Charlotte had pneumococcal which cannot be passed on. Victoria Rogers, of Bedford Place, said: "Charlotte had a temperature, was being sick and was drowsy so I called the doctor out.

"He did all the checks for meningitis, but nothing showed up. At lunchtime he came back out but she had managed to keep some fluids down and so we thought she was going to be all right. Thirty minutes later she was violently sick. "I called the doctor and he sent straight away for an ambulance and Charlotte went into Burnley General."

Charlotte was treated for six hours when she stopped breathing, strenuous efforts were made by staff to revive her, but they were unsuccessful.

East Lancashire Health Authority spokeswoman Dr Mira Biswas said Charlotte was first brought in with a generalised infection and showed no signs of meningitis.

A post mortem examination revealed she had pneumonia which had also caused a pneumococcal meningitis infection.

Dr Biswas said: "Although pneumonia is not heard of often these days, it affects young children and older people and especially those whose body resistance is low."

Victoria said: "I would like to thank the doctors and nurses, my family and also friends for their support and help, they have been really good."

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