Swine Flu: Second death in West Midlands is revealed
A second person has died after contracting swine flu in the West Midlands, health officials revealed last night.
It comes as the Department of Health said 29 people in the UK had now died with the H1N1 virus – 26 in England and three in Scotland.
A post-mortem examination is now being carried out on the patient to determine whether swine flu was a contributory factor to the death, which is believed to have occurred over the past two days.
It is the second death following six-year-old Sameerah Ahmad, of Gillott Road, Edgbaston, who died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital while infected with the virus on June 26, but was seriously ill with Microvillus Inclusion Disease affecting the lining of the small intestine.
Sameerah’s death was referred to the Birmingham coroner, but under new Government rules, the latest case will not have an inquest.
An NHS West Midlands health authority spokeswoman refused to give any further details about the victim, or where they were from.
She added: “We cannot confirm whether swine flu was a contributing factor in the latest case as we are awaiting test results. We cannot also yet say whether this person was healthy or had underlying health conditions.”
The Health Protection Agency has estimated there were 55,000 new cases of people suffering flu-like illness in the last week with the NHS seeing a surge in calls and consultations. In the worst hit areas, hospitals have reported having wards full of children with swine flu, while GP practices have said they are seeing between 50 and 60 flu cases a day.
The Government has warned that deaths from swine flu this winter could be between 19,000 and 65,000 in the UK.
Read Swine Flu: What every parents needs to know
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