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Killed by the common cold in two days: Teenage girl dies after virus causes fatal brain infection

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:18 AM on 30th October 2010

An 18-year-old girl died two days after catching a cold when the virus spread to her brain. Student Danielle Brooker’s condition deteriorated rapidly after she complained of feeling unwell with a headache. The following day, she lost the feeling in her hands and legs and within a few hours she suffered a fit and collapsed into unconsciousness.



Tragic: Danielle Brooker was described by her friends and family as a bubbly and stunning girl. She died two days after complaining about a cold.

She was taken by ambulance to Maidstone Hospital in Kent but died after being transferred to a specialist neurology unit at King’s College Hospital in London. Medics said it was ‘extremely rare’ for a virus like a common cold to become complicated in such a way that it spreads to the brain, causing it to swell.

The cause of Danielle’s death on October 22 was given as a brain infection. Friends and family paid tribute to the ‘bubbly’ teenager, from Barming, Kent. She was studying to become a beautician at MidKent College in Maidstone. Her best friend Georga Kernick, 18, said: ‘Danielle was the best. I was so lucky to be in her life.

‘She lived life to the full and had so many friends. She was always out. She would always be the one dancing. I miss her so much.’ Viral infections like the common cold cause inflammation which can on rare occasions lead to organ damage. Having flu, for example, increases by a third the risk of a heart attack. Secondary complications such as bacterial infection can also be potentially fatal.

'For an 18-year-old girl to become a donor is amazing but then Danielle was that sort of person'

Infections that travel to the brain are uniquely dangerous because it is a soft organ in a hard box – the skull. It leads to excessive pressure in the head, known as intercranial pressure, which can be fatal. Val Harmon, infection control nurse at NHS West Kent, said: ‘The majority of people can fight viral infections like the common cold from home with plenty of rest, fluids and a healthy diet.

‘Viral infections can, in exceptionally rare circumstances, lead to complications such as bacterial infections. This can then cause conditions such as inflammation of the brain.’ Within hours of her death Danielle’s lungs, liver and kidneys were given to three other patients. She was inspired to become a registered organ donor after watching a TV programme in July.

Her brother Danny, 22, said: ‘For an 18-year-old girl to become a donor is amazing but then Danielle was that sort of person.’ Lorraine Ruler, 29, who is engaged to Danielle’s 36-year-old uncle Gary Brooker, said: ‘We are so proud of her that she registered to become a donor and helped save those three people’s lives.’