7-Year-Old Indiana Girl Dies; She Had Flu, Scarlet Fever, Strep

COLUMBUS, IN — A 7-year-old Indiana girl who was found unresponsive in her bed and later died at a hospital had the flu, scarlet fever and strep throat, the county coroner's office said.

Savanna Jessie, a first-grader at Columbus Signature Academy's Lincoln Elementary School, was rushed to Columbus Regional Hospital on Thursday morning. Medical staff declared her dead just after 6:30 a.m that day, according to a YouCaring post created to help the family cover costs of her funeral.

Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation confirmed in a statement that one of its first-graders at CSA Lincoln had died.

Savanna tested positive for influenza, strep throat and scarlet fever before she died, the Bartholomew County coroner's office said on Friday. She had a high fever.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scarlet fever is a bacterial infection caused by group A Streptococcus or “group A strep.”

"These bacteria cause many types of infections, including strep throat and skin infections," the agency says on its website. "Certain strep bacteria produce a toxin (poison) that can cause a red rash—the 'scarlet' of scarlet fever. Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness that most commonly affects children between 5 and 15 years old."

Funeral arrangements are still being determined. Savanna will be buried at Garland Brook Cemetery, according to her obituary. Memorial contributions can be donated to the Bartholomew County Humane Society and online condolences and special memories can be shared with the family at barkesweaverglick.com.

The YouCaring account has raised more than $6,700 for Savanna's funeral. The post said the girl was related to a member of the Children and Hoosier Immunization Registry Program, or CHIRP, and that the parents were a part of the program for eight months.

Savanna loved drawing, coloring, stuffed animals, school, and her cats and dogs, the crowdfunding post said.

"Savanna was a beautiful, funny, loving little girl," the post said. "She had a very wonderful and tight nit family. She was not the type to complain about the things she didn't have or what others did have. Savanna valued everything she had. She was a fly by the seat of the pants kind of girl. She loved everybody and everybody loved her."

Students told WISH-TV they're now talking to their families about the flu and how dangerous it can be.

“Knowing someone that walks down the hallways of where you learn and them dying is really sad,” said sixth-grader Bryan Gonzalez.

Photo credit: GoFundMe