Child Dies In North From Swine Flu

The tragic death of a child who was suffering from swine flu has been confirmed.

The North's Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey has today expressed his deepest sympathy to the family of the unnamed young child who died yesterday.

He said that the victim was confirmed as having swine flu, but the exact cause of death of the child is not yet known.

The Minister said: "It is desperately sad when a child dies and my thoughts and sympathies are with the child's family.

"I would ask everyone to respect the privacy of the family at this very sad time. No further information will be given out at this stage," he said.

"I realise that parents of young children may be worried by this news.

"I can assure parents that medical experts from the Public Health Agency have been providing advice to GPs who may be contacted by parents whose children may have been in contact with this child," the Minister continued.

However, he said that incidents of swine flu in Northern Ireland are continuing to rise.

"We must expect further increases in cases in the weeks ahead.

"Swine flu remains a major public health threat but we are well prepared and have been planning for a pandemic for some time."

Also commenting, the NI Chief Medical Officer, Dr Michael McBride said: "Any parents who have concerns that their child may have symptoms of swine flu should immediately contact their GP or out-of-hours service for advice and assessment.

"For parents of children who may have been in contact with this child, I would like to assure them that if their child has no symptoms of swine flu and is otherwise healthy, there is no need for antiviral treatment."

Two people from Northern Ireland have died from the virus and just last month a baby with swine flu died in NI - but a a pre-existing heart condition was determined as the cause.

Dr McBride continued: "For the vast majority of people, swine flu remains a mild illness, however, some people will require hospital care and in some cases admission to intensive care. All of us in the health service have been planning and preparing to deal with any increased pressure on our services."

(BMcC/KMcA)