Meningitis claimed the life of a 15-month-old Oakdale girl, Stanislaus County health officials said Tuesday.

Kaitlyn Rose Parker died Friday at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto within three hours of first showing signs of the contagious disease.

"This was a very, very unusual case," said Dr. John Walker, county health officer. "Usually there are clear warning signs. In this case, there wasn't time for medical intervention."

Kaitlyn came down with a fever late Friday afternoon. It reached 104 degrees and she broke out in a rash. Her mother, Terrie Price, rushed her to Stanislaus UrgentCare.

"She was there less than 20 minutes before doctors sent her on to Doctors Medical Center," Walker said. "She was clearly in need of special services because of her rash and her fever."

She died at Doctors, soon after arrival.

"I can't emphasize enough how rare it is for a person to go so quickly," Walker said. "Usually it starts with flu symptoms, then a fever, then drowsiness, then a rash, sometimes a stiff neck. On the spectrum, this was at the far end. It's very uncommon."

Walker said the clinical diagnosis is bacterial meningitis, but doctors will not know for sure until autopsy results arrive later this week.

In the meantime, doctors are giving antibiotics to the few dozen people who came in close contact with Kaitlyn while she had a fever.

"Close contact is like kissing and sharing utensils," Walker said. "Meningitis is spread through saliva. It isn't passed on just by being in the same room."

Walker said he could not even speculate how Kaitlyn contracted the disease.

This is the first meningitis-related death in Stanislaus County this year. Two people died of the disease last year, a common annual total, Walker said.

In addition to her mother, Kaitlyn is survived by her father, John Parker Jr. of Oakdale; brother, Tevin Parker of Arizona; grandparents, John Parker of Washington and Marlyn Parker of Arizona, and David and Debbie Price of Modesto; and great-grandparents, Eugene and Evelyn Duke of Oakdale.

A graveside service will be at 1 p.m. today at Lakewood Memorial Park in Hughson.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee.