So the fact that the "healthy 6 year old" who died did NOT die from Swine Flu seems to have been missed by many

[franklymydear]

She died of septic shock from tonsilitis. The poor family, this is not a death one expects.

So so far as far as I can see nobody without underlying health issues has died of Swine Flu in the UK right?

She tested positive for H1N1 flu too, so it's not known if the tonsillitis was a complication of that.

She may well have tested positive for H1N1 flu but the reportage says she DIED from septic shock as a result of tonsilitis.

fanjo - you are splitting hairs.

franklymydear - you are v. sensible but i suspect the makers of non generic pain killers are going to hunt you down and kill you.

tonsilitis can be treated with penicillin

fanjo - one of the complications of flu is to develop a concurrent bacterial infection. This happens with seasonal flu too. Usually flu is not the soul cause of death but a contributory factor. Tonsillitis is not an underlying health condition.

sorry - not fanjo I mean franklymydear.

Can you get septic shock from tonsilitis - that is VV worrying

It does not sounds to me like she got the correct medical care tbh

It sounds as if the fact she was diagnosed with SF may have caused less pro action into looking for another cause for the fever esp as the advice at that time was stay home and get tamiflu~this may have delayed treatment.

Whatever the cause its probably not very kind of us to be speculating about what has caused the deaths of individuals. Her poor family.

precisely MS which is what is worrying

Chevre - I am not splitting hairs, thank you. If the tonsillitis was secondary to swine flu there could be a link.

Isnt the usual cause of death from flu a secondary bacterial infection, as well?

My number 1 worry is that everyone is so obsessed about swine flu and tamiflu, they miss secondary infections developing needed urgent antibiotics.

Patients who die from flu usually do die from a bacterial infection to which they become susceptible when their immune system is knackered by said flu virus. Overwhelming infection is not a rare event. When at secondary school and university I knew two people who died from that - one was following tonsillitis. Infection can move fast - which is why the advice on here is so often to get off the internet and down to A&E when people post about poorly children. The children's matron in the hospital where I worked told me about one case where parents were bringing their child in to be seen and the child died in their arms whilst they were carrying them up to the ward from the car park. They hadn't seemed all that ill at the Gp practice just a little while before I'm not saying that to frighten anybody - i've got a feverish two year old here myself tonight, just to say that modern medicine lulls in to a false sense of security as far as our health goes. We're all bust stressing about swine flu because it's new - but the bugs that can kill are always with us. we're better at treating them now than 50 or 100 years ago - but they've never gone away.