Child dies of bacterial meningitis in Cape May County

LOWER TOWNSHIP (AP) — A 5-year-old has died of bacterial meningitis in Cape May County.

Lilyana Fernandez was preparing to begin kindergarten at the Douglas Memorial School in Lower Township when she developed an ear infection.

Her mother, Shannon Decker, tells The Press of Atlantic City her daughter had been vaccinated against bacterial meningitis, but apparently not this strain.

As the child's condition worsened, she was flown by helicopter to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she underwent surgery to relieve pressure from fluid on her brain.

Decker says her daughter remained in a coma on life-support until she died on Friday.

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