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Swine flu girl's inquest opened | Swine flu girl's inquest opened |
(31 minutes later) | |
An inquest has been opened into the death of a six-year-old girl who died after contracting swine flu. | An inquest has been opened into the death of a six-year-old girl who died after contracting swine flu. |
Sameerah Ahmad died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on Friday evening after contracting the virus. | Sameerah Ahmad died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on Friday evening after contracting the virus. |
The coroner confirmed she had been infected with the H1N1 virus when she died and he gave further details of other serious health problems. | |
The inquest was opened at Birmingham Coroners' Court. Her death is the third swine-flu related fatality in the UK. | The inquest was opened at Birmingham Coroners' Court. Her death is the third swine-flu related fatality in the UK. |
The girl attended Mayfield School, a school for children with special needs in Lozells, Birmingham, which has been closed until Monday. | |
'Wonderful child' | |
The coroner said she had had a rare congenital disease of the small intestine and a condition affecting the blood cell count in her bone marrow, which meant she was vulnerable to infections. | |
Sameerah's father, Imran Ahmad, told the court his daughter had suffered during her lifetime. | |
Mayfield School head teacher Paul Jenkins said pupils and staff were being offered support. | |
He said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Sameerah's family at this time. | |
"She was a wonderful, happy, child and her death is a great loss to the school community. She will be sadly missed by everyone here." | "She was a wonderful, happy, child and her death is a great loss to the school community. She will be sadly missed by everyone here." |
The other two swine flu-related deaths were in Scotland. There have been 1,604 extra confirmed cases in England since Friday. |