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Welsh boy ill in Kenyan hospital -A/H1N1?

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  • Welsh boy ill in Kenyan hospital -A/H1N1?

    Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/w...st/8225038.stm


    Welsh boy ill in Kenyan hospital
    Map of Kenya

    A Welsh teenager on a charity work trip to Kenya has been airlifted to hospital after falling ill.

    Chris Morrone, 17, from Newport, complained of chest pains and breathing difficulties while on safari.

    He is under sedation in a Nairobi hospital while doctors investigate what is wrong with him.


    He was near the end of a trip with 39 other youngsters working for the charity Moving Mountains. His parents have flown out to be at his bedside.

    Andy Hunt, one of the leaders of the trip which worked with street children, said he was in a critical condition.

    He said: "The problem is that we don't seem to know what has caused it. The only test that has come back positive is that some in the group had flu but I can't believe it is just that."

    Mr Hunt, 44, a youth worker from Newport, described the teenager as a "gentle giant" who had spent two weeks running a summer camp for about 100 street children in Nairobi, as well as teaching them.


    'Mount Kenya'

    He said the St Julian's High School pupil was also part of a building project in a slum area of the city helping to build a school.

    He said: "He then went on to climb Mount Kenya and was on safari in Meru. I think it was the second or third day of safari when he complained of pains in his chest and was cold and shivery."

    Mr Hunt said Chris fell ill during the early hours of 9 August and when his condition worsened overnight, he was flown to hospital in Nairobi.[/B]

    His doctors there were in contact with their counterparts in the UK to try to diagnose the illness, said Mr Hunt.

    He said Chris's parents, John and Anne-Marie, were keeping a vigil at his bedside.

    He added: "His parents are very distressed and they have asked for privacy while they are at their son's bedside."

    'Pneumonia'

    Andy MacDonald, of the Northern Ireland-based charity Moving Mountains, said Chris flew out to Nairobi on 21 July.

    He said: "He had pneumonia, but because of his age and fitness that shouldn't have caused him to be in the condition he's in.

    "It is very unusual. We're hopeful that we may be able to get him back home sometime next week."
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