Swine flu: Dead man and child named (From Bucks Free Press)

Swine flu: Dead man and child named

12:27am Tuesday 7th July 2009 in

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A teacher and a nine-year-old child who died after contracting swine flu have been named locally.

Abdullah Patel, in his 40s, and Asmaa Hussain, both from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, were said by officials to have "underlying health issues".

No link has been established between the two victims, who bring the UK total of swine flu patient deaths to seven.

Earlier, another nine-year-old girl, from south London, was confirmed to have died over the weekend after contracting the illness.

Asmaa, who was reported to have died on Thursday, suffered from epilepsy and attended a special school.

Her uncle Ghulam Rasoo told reporters she died 15 minutes after she had a fit. He said a doctor had diagnosed flu symptoms and prescribed the anti-viral Tamiflu but she died before taking them. Asmaa's father Merban Hussain died from a heart attack two months ago, it was reported.

Mr Patel was said to have worked at the Institute of Islamic Education in Savile Town, Dewsbury. The small independent boarding school was closed last week after a swine flu outbreak.

Health officials said they could not confirm whether swine flu was the cause of death in either case.

A spokesman for NHS Kirklees said: "It is with sadness that we can confirm that a child from the Kirklees area, who had swine flu, has died. The child also had serious underlying health issues. At this stage, we have no confirmation whether or not swine flu was the cause of death."

A spokeswoman for NHS Yorkshire and the Humber confirmed that the man was also from the Kirklees area and also had underlying health issues.