Two more swine flu sufferers die (From Harrow Times)

Two more swine flu sufferers die

5:47pm Monday 6th July 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

A man and a child have died after contracting swine flu, health officials said.

The two, believed to be from the Kirklees area of West Yorkshire, had "underlying health issues", a spokeswoman for NHS Yorkshire and the Humber said.

They bring the total number of deaths of people with swine flu in the UK to seven.

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.

Earlier, it was confirmed that a nine-year-old child from south London had died after contracting the disease.

The child had "serious underlying health problems", according to a spokesman for NHS London.

London, along with the West Midlands, is a swine flu hotspot.

The child is the second person in the capital to die after a 19-year-old man, also from south London and with serious underlying health problems, died last week.