Eastern Ill. girl dies of rare blood infection

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The Champaign County coroner says a sixth-grader appears to have died from a rare blood infection that's contagious through close contact.

Coroner Duane Northrup says an autopsy shows 11-year-old Natalie Johnson of Loda died Tuesday of Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the illness is contagious through close contact, such as kissing.

The Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district says it's waiting for direction from the local health department but isn't closing schools. Health department officials are still investigating.

The CDC says symptoms include fever, low blood pressure, bleeding and a rash. Up to 1,500 people in the U.S. get the bacterial illness each year.