Schoolgirl swine flu victim named by Birmingham coroner

The schoolgirl who died after contracting swine flu was named by a coroner's officer today.

Sameerah Ahmad, who had underlying health problems, died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on Friday evening.

It is not yet known if swine flu contributed to her death.

An inquest is due to be opened this morning at Birmingham Coroner's Court.

Sameerah, whose age has yet to be confirmed, is believed to have been a pupil at Mayfield, a specialist school in Birmingham which caters for children with learning difficulties.

The West Midlands has been declared a hotspot for the disease, with 2,104 confirmed cases so far, more than a third of the UK's total and more than two-fifths of all the cases in England.

Yesterday 1,604 cases new cases were confirmed in England since Friday, taking the country's total to 4,968 and the UK's total so far to 5,937.

The child is the third patient with the virus to die in the UK.

A 73-year-old man from the Inverclyde area died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Scotland, on Saturday night.

The unnamed man, who had serious underlying health conditions, had been treated in the hospital's intensive care unit for the past 15 days.

The first UK death, Jacqui Fleming, 38, who had just given birth prematurely, died two weeks ago at the same hospital. She had other health problems.

Last week health officials said the West Midlands, along with London which has 1,564 confirmed cases so far, would adopt a policy of outbreak management, with swine flu cases being clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory results.

The new policy means swabbing will take place only for a small number of cases to keep track of the strength of the virus.

Doctors will also use the drug Tamiflu more selectively, targeting only people with symptoms.

The drug is unlikely to be handed out to everyone who has come into contact with a swine flu sufferer as a precaution.

Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson stressed that many parts of the country were still in the containment phase.

But he warned there could be "tens of thousands of cases" of swine flu each week by the autumn because the virus is more likely to thrive in the colder months.

Sir Liam said: "We still think we are heading for the largest surge of cases in the autumn and winter."

The inquest heard that Sameerah, who lived in Edgbaston with her parents, was aged six when she died and was born with a rare, life-threatening disease called microvillus inclusion disease, which left her liable to contracting infections.

She was also suffering from a condition which weakened her bone marrow and her immune system, making it difficult for her body to fight illness, although no clear diagnosis has been made.

Sameerah's father, Imran Ahmad, was told by Birmingham coroner, Aiden Cotter, that a post mortem would have to be carried out.

When asked if he wanted this, Mr Ahmad said: "Obviously I do not, because she has been through a lot already in her life.

"She has been through a lot, but, if it's the law, it's the law. I cannot do anything about that."

Mr Cotter told him it was not a strict law, but advised that a post mortem examination was necessary to find out how his daughter died.

Paul Jenkins, Headteacher at Mayfield School, 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. Support is being made available to pupils and staff within the school."

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said the school, in Heathfield Road, Handsworth, was closed today for operational reasons.