A sore throat ... and 48 hours later Chloe was dead: Swine flu kills healthy girl aged six and a doctor
By DANIEL MARTIN
Last updated at 7:54 AM on 14th July 2009
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Chloe Buckley: Her family doctor thought she had tonsillitis
Parts of Britain are in the grip of a swine flu epidemic today after the first healthy child died of the virus that is sweeping the country.
Chloe Buckley, six, died within 48 hours of complaining of a sore throat and just a day before her seventh birthday.
She was not given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu after her doctor apparently misdiagnosed her illness as tonsillitis.
It was also announced yesterday that Dr Michael Day, a 64-year-old GP who had been treating swine flu victims, had died after contracting the virus.
Both the little girl and the doctor are believed to have been perfectly healthy before succumbing to swine flu.
Three people with no previous health problems have now died of the illness out of a total of 17 deaths across Britain.
Last night experts were reassuring the public that swine flu is no more contagious than the normal seasonal flu.
And for most of those who catch it, the illness will be mild.
'The vast majority of people will recover quickly by taking paracetamol or ibuprofen, and drinking plenty of fluids,' said Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GP committee.
'We must remember that every year there are deaths from complications of seasonal flu; this is unfortunately inevitable with any strain of influenza.'*
Chloe, from West Drayton, West London, became ill on Wednesday and died on Thursday night.
Dr Day, a GP from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
He is also understood to have been healthy, although a post mortem is being carried out.
So young: Chloe's family home in West Drayton, London
'Doctors have always accepted that there are risks associated with their job, Dr Buckman said.*
'Obviously these are smaller than they used to be with the advent of modern medicine, but they can never be eliminated altogether.
'It is understandable that people will be worried when they hear that a GP has died but we urge them to follow the recommended advice and contact their family doctor, rather than physically going to the surgery if they have symptoms.
'While these individual deaths are tragedies for the families concerned, it is very important that members of the public do not panic.'
*
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Christmas--virus-reaches-Downing-Street.html
By DANIEL MARTIN
Last updated at 7:54 AM on 14th July 2009
Comments (101)
Add to My Stories
Chloe Buckley: Her family doctor thought she had tonsillitis
Parts of Britain are in the grip of a swine flu epidemic today after the first healthy child died of the virus that is sweeping the country.
Chloe Buckley, six, died within 48 hours of complaining of a sore throat and just a day before her seventh birthday.
She was not given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu after her doctor apparently misdiagnosed her illness as tonsillitis.
It was also announced yesterday that Dr Michael Day, a 64-year-old GP who had been treating swine flu victims, had died after contracting the virus.
Both the little girl and the doctor are believed to have been perfectly healthy before succumbing to swine flu.
Three people with no previous health problems have now died of the illness out of a total of 17 deaths across Britain.
Last night experts were reassuring the public that swine flu is no more contagious than the normal seasonal flu.
And for most of those who catch it, the illness will be mild.
'The vast majority of people will recover quickly by taking paracetamol or ibuprofen, and drinking plenty of fluids,' said Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GP committee.
'We must remember that every year there are deaths from complications of seasonal flu; this is unfortunately inevitable with any strain of influenza.'*
Chloe, from West Drayton, West London, became ill on Wednesday and died on Thursday night.
Dr Day, a GP from Dunstable, Bedfordshire, died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
He is also understood to have been healthy, although a post mortem is being carried out.
So young: Chloe's family home in West Drayton, London
'Doctors have always accepted that there are risks associated with their job, Dr Buckman said.*
'Obviously these are smaller than they used to be with the advent of modern medicine, but they can never be eliminated altogether.
'It is understandable that people will be worried when they hear that a GP has died but we urge them to follow the recommended advice and contact their family doctor, rather than physically going to the surgery if they have symptoms.
'While these individual deaths are tragedies for the families concerned, it is very important that members of the public do not panic.'
*
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Christmas--virus-reaches-Downing-Street.html
