A LITTLE girl thought to have died of mumps was killed by a rare reaction to a common bacteria.

Lisa-Marie Pollitt, four, died suddenly in July, a week after her GP diagnosed mumps.

Her parents called an ambulance to their home in Baguley, Wythenshawe, when Lisa-Marie’s lips turned blue and her breathing became shallow.

By the time paramedics arrived, the girl’s heart had stopped and she was later pronounced dead at hospital.

At an inquest in Manchester, pathologist Doctor Melanie Newbold said she had found no evidence that Lisa-Marie had been suffering from mumps, despite the GP’s diagnosis.

She said death was caused by an infection of group A streptococcal bacteria – the same bacteria that cause scarlet fever. Most people infected do not even know they have it, but in rare cases it can cause major complications.

In Lisa-Marie’s case it caused a major inflammation of her lung tissues which made it difficult for her to breathe. Her mum, Patsy, wept as the deputy coroner Caroline Singleton recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

Dad Danny, 24, said he hoped the verdict would bring the family some closure. He said: “The hardest thing has been not knowing what happened. We still feel bewildered, but hopefully now we can move forward.”

He said they would never forget the daughter he described as bright, bubbly and beautiful. “She was always playing, always laughing and had an answer for everything. Everyone loved her.”

Lisa-Marie had two brothers, Cameron, five and Anthony, three.

The deputy coroner, said: “It’s not in the natural order of things to deal with the death of a child. I offer you my sincere sympathies.”