Strep infection caused death of Kentucky teen cheerleader

Strep was the cause of the death of a 13-year-old Northern Kentucky cheerleader who died just a few hours after falling ill at a competition in February, according to media reports.

Lilliana Schalck’s family issued a statement saying that “an underlying strep infection overwhelmed her immune system” causing her death, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The Fort Thomas family said they are “still in shock” and will be “forever heartbroken.”

“We wouldn’t wish this nightmare on anyone and maybe this report might help prevent a similar outcome for someone else,” the family said in the statement. “Lilliana would surely help if she could, and this is just an extension of that spirit.”

Death as a result of strep is rare. While millions of people get sick with strep non-invasive Group A strep each year, the Centers for Disease Control says 1,100 to 1,600 people die as a result of invasive Group A strep annually.

According to FOX 19 in Cincinnati, Lilliana’s family said the last time she had had strep was four to six years ago, and they did not know she had it in February.

According to the station, her father said at the time that during the competition in Columbus with her Premier Athletics cheer team on Feb. 23, she became weak and complained of hamstring pain and numbness in her hands.

She was taken to Children’s Nationwide Hospital, where she died.

The student council at Highlands Middle School, where Lilliana was in eighth grade, is planning a garden and memorial area to honor her, Highlands Cheerleading said in a Facebook post.

An obituary described Lilliana as “very goal oriented” and said she loved “baking, crafting, reading and swimming.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2019 at 6:01 PM.