A Western Australian woman died from meningococcal disease after she & parents thought she was only suffering from food poisoning.

She left work early on Friday for feeling sick, but went out with her friends the following night, leaving her family to believe that she was doing better. On Saturday night, her parents visited Jacqueline and learned that she had been vomiting, had diarrhea but assumed she had food poisoning, and also attributed a rash on her back to heat rash.

“Her parents now say they told her they’d take her to the hospital on Sunday morning, when there would be less of a wait. When the time arrived, Jacqueline looked like she was doing better, so her parents decided to hold off and went out for the day, leaving their daughter home alone. When they came back in the afternoon, she was dead in her room”.

Call your doctor when you or loved ones experience symptoms that may be worse than a mild illness.

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