Swine flu girl 'had suffered illness for all her short life'

A girl of six who died after contracting swine flu had a weakened immune system, her father told an inquest today.

Sameerah Ahmad died at Birmingham's Children's Hospital on Friday evening.

Tests revealed she had contracted swine flu, although it is not yet known if this contributed to her death.

She was also believed to have been suffering from a condition which weakened her bone marrow and her immune system, making it difficult for her body to fight infection.

At the inquest in Birmingham Sameerah's father, Imran Ahmad, was 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. But if it's the law, it's the law."

Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Aiden Cotter advised Mr Ahmad that a post-mortem was necessary to find out how his daughter died, although it was not strict law. 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."

The inquest was told that Sameerah, who lived in Edgbaston, Birmingham and was a pupil at Mayfield School in Handsworth, was born with a rare genetic disorder, microvillus inclusion disease, affecting her small intestine.

Mr Cotter told the court the post-mortem examination was being carried out today.