Swine flu girl smiles through pain
Updated on 01 July 2009
The six-year-old girl who became the youngest person in the UK to die after contracting swine flu was shown smiling despite her rare illness in pictures released by her family.
Sameerah Ahmad was shown looking happy with wide eyes and a broad smile despite being wheelchair-bound with a medical tube in her nose.
The schoolgirl, who was born with a rare and life-threatening disorder affecting her small intestine, died at Birmingham's Children's Hospital on Friday evening. Doctors suspect she also suffered from a condition which weakened her bone marrow and immune system, making it difficult for her body to fight infection.
Tests showed she had contracted swine flu, although it is not yet known if this contributed to her death. At the opening of an inquest at Birmingham Coroner's Court, Sameerah's father, Imran Ahmad, said his daughter had suffered during her life.
When asked if he wanted a post-mortem examination to be carried out, he replied: "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."
Birmingham and Solihull coroner Aidan Cotter advised Mr Ahmad that a post-mortem examination was necessary to find out how his daughter died, although it was not strictly a legal requirement. He said: "It may be that, when we have all the evidence in, we still won't know but it's important we try and find out."
Mr Cotter told Mr Ahmad that he was releasing more information about Sameerah's death than was usual at an inquest opening. He said: "I think it's very important that the public have this information. There must be a lot of parents who are worried and are very aware of your grief."
The pictures were taken on June 22 at Mayfield School in Handsworth, Birmingham, where Sameerah was a pupil. The inquest was told that Sameerah, who lived with her parents in the Edgbaston area of the city, was born with microvillus inclusion disease, which causes severe and often life-threatening diarrhoea.
Dr Gale Pearson, a consultant at Birmingham's Children's Hospital, said he believed she had also been suffering from a condition affecting her bone marrow, called pancytopenia, although no clear diagnosis had been made.
A post-mortem was due to be carried out and the inquest was adjourned.
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