CHERRY HILL, N.J. - More than 80 people were treated at a hospital and one woman died yesterday after falling ill at a mortgage company's convention, held at a suburban Philadelphia hotel.

Doctors said the woman had signs of bacterial pneumonia and a rash associated with the types of bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis.

"Because it could - and I emphasize 'could' - be the form of meningococcal disease, we've offered preventative antibiotics with those who had close contact," said Dr. David Condoluci, chief of infectious diseases at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals.

He expected laboratory results on today.

Seven people were hospitalized and 77 other convention-goers went to the emergency room at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals-Cherry Hill yesterday, hospital spokeswoman Nicole Pensiero said.

Joanne Hemstreet, 45, of Kingston, Mass., was among 500 people at Cendant Mortgage's annual meeting for sales staff Saturday when she began complaining of headache, fever, chills and vomiting, Condoluci said.

Her condition worsened throughout the day, and she was critically ill when she arrived at the hospital that evening. She died early yesterday, Condoluci said.

Health officials said the illness is not highly contagious. But the Cherry Hill Hilton was quarantined yesterday from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m., night manager Glenn Oldack said.

Pat Cummings, Cendant Mortgage's vice president of administration, said the company would issue a statement later yesterday.

Standing near the emergency room entrance, Cummings said two company vans were waiting to bring employees back to the hotel. Eighteen people arrived at the hospital in a company van yesterday morning.

"There's still people who are coming in on their own," he said.

None of the seven people hospitalized was in critical condition, Condoluci said. Among the 77 others, he said, six were given antibiotics because they may have come in contact with Hemstreet's bodily fluids.

"Otherwise, being in the same room or being in the hotel, it's not necessary for those people to be given antibiotics," he said.

The Camden County Health Department was talking to convention-goers at the hotel yesterday morning, Condoluci said. Health officials and other local authorities remained at the Hilton just before noon.

The illnesses conjured memories of another illness outbreak at a Philadelphia-area convention 25 years ago. Legionnaires' disease, a respiratory infection generally spread through inhalation of mist from contaminated water, was discovered in 1976, when 34 people died and 221 became ill at an American Legion convention. Condoluci said Legionnaire's disease does not appear to be the cause of yesterday's illnesses.