UK - 5-year-old from Berkshire dies after contracting swine flu

[Gert van der Hoek]

More Swine Flu Jabs As Five-Year-Old Dies


A five-year-old girl has died after contracting swine flu, it has emerged.

The girl, from Slough, Berkshire, tested positive for the H1N1 virus, and was treated at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London.

She died there on November 11.

She was in the reception class at James Elliman Primary School in Slough.

A borough council spokeswoman said: "We are providing support to pupils, parents and staff during this very tragic time.

"This is a really sad and difficult time for the family and our thoughts are with them."

The news came as the Government announced healthy children between the ages of six months and five years old were to be offered the swine flu vaccine.

More than three million youngsters are to be offered the jab.

Parents will receive letters from their GP inviting them to bring their children into surgeries, with vaccinations expected to start some time in December.

Under-fives will be prioritised after GPs have finished vaccinating at-risk groups, which include people aged six months to 65 with conditions like asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

Pregnant women and front-line health workers are also currently being given the jab.

England's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, said there had been a "very, very striking increase" in the number of under-fives admitted to hospital.

They are suffering particularly badly with the virus which can cause trouble with breathing.

There were an estimated 53,000 new cases of swine flu in England in the last week, down from 64,000 in the week before.

The number of people who have died of swine flu in the whole of the UK now stands at 214.

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thanks to infoflu

 

[Roehl_JC]

Re: UK - 5-year-old from Berkshire dies after contracting swine flu

A LITTLE girl died of swine flu after doctors told her parents she had tonsillitis, it emerged last night.
Last night her family were demanding answers from doctors who failed to spot the symptoms.

Nida Qureshi, five, was the fifth pupil at her primary school to fall ill with the H1N1 virus and appeared to have no other health problems.Her uncle, Jawaid Qureshi, said Nida?s mother Raheela, 30, and father Zubair, 28, were devastated.

He said: ?Her mum and dad are very angry that doctors failed to diagnose it earlier. Nobody picked it up, it?s just terrible. Neither the GP nor people at the hospital diagnosed it.

?We asked lots of questions and got no answers. She may have lived if it had been diagnosed earlier.?

Nida, from Slough, Berkshire, died at St Mary?s Hospital in Paddington, London, on November 11 after battling the illness during half term.

Mr Qureshi told how Nida was sent home by a string of doctors before she had a seizure on November 3, when she was finally diagnosed with swine flu.
He added: ?Nida was a very intelligent and bright young girl who loved school.?

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/141345/Swine-flu-diagnosis-kills-girl-with-tonsillitis-

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: UK - 5-year-old from Berkshire dies after contracting swine flu

Social : Tragedy of girl, five, struck by swine flu: Three GPs and a hospital doctor thought she had tonsillitis

by SANOJ RAJ
on 25-Nov-09 1:50am

A five-year-old girl suffering from swine flu died after doctors took two weeks to diagnose her illness, it was claimed last night.

Nida Qureshi was seen by three GPs and a hospital doctor who told her parents she may have tonsillitis.

By the time doctors discovered that she had the H1N1 virus, the youngster was on a life support machine, her family said. She died eight days later.

Last night relatives said Nida's parents - Zubair, 28, and Raheela, 30, who is pregnant with their second child - believe that their daughter may have survived if swine flu had been detected earlier.

Nida's uncle, Jawaid Qureshi, said: 'Her mum, herself a child carer, and dad are very angry that doctors and GPs failed to diagnose it earlier. It's devastating. She may have lived if it had been diagnosed earlier.'

Mr Qureshi said Nida - a 'bright' girl without any underlying health problems - fell ill with a temperature and vomiting on October 19.

The family phoned a GP, who advised paracetamol. The next day she went to her doctor and was prescribed antibiotics.

Five days later, the family took her back but were told to carry on giving the antibiotics.

On November 1, after her condition worsened, the family took her to A&E at their local hospital, Wexham Park, in Slough.

Mr Qureshi said: 'When she was breathing she was in agony. She was coughing a lot as well. The doctor at hospital said it might be tonsillitis but they did not take any blood or urine samples.

Delayed diagnosis: Nida Qureshi died after doctors said she had tonsillitis

They prescribed her with more medicine and said: "Go back to the GP if she continues not to feel well". It was a very bad decision to allow her to go home.'

Two days later she had a seizure and never regained consciousness. She was put on a life support machine and finally diagnosed with the H1N1 virus. Nida was transferred to St Mary's Hospital in London

A spokesman for NHS Berkshire East said: 'We can confirm that a young girl from east Berkshire died at St Mary's Hospital, London, on November 11. She had tested positive for H1N1 swine flu.'

Professor John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary School of Medicine, said her death could have been caused when the swine flu virus moved into her central nervous system.

Normally, the virus attacks the lungs. But in extremely rare cases, often affecting children, it can attack the nerve tissue and cause a seizure.

He added: 'Diagnosing flu in a five-year-old is extremely difficult. It is also impossible to say if Tamiflu would have made any difference in this case.

By Fay Schlesinger

Jr.Dr.Raj
AIMU-USA

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