Swine flu victim Chloe’s death a ‘one in million event’ say GPs

They sought to reassure parents after a post-mortem examination into the sudden death of Chloe Buckley of West Drayton failed to rule out swine flu as a contributory factor.

Chloe's death at St Mary's hospital in Paddington on 9 July caused panic among parents because she was believed to have been otherwise healthy. A post mortem showed she died of septic shock as a result of a tonsillitis infection. But the pathologist could not rule out swine flu as a contributory factor.

Dr Simon Tanner, director of public health for London, said Chloe's tonsillitis infection was caused by a bacterium.

He said: "A post-mortem examination has concluded that Chloe Buckley died of septic shock as a result of a tonsillitis infection caused by the streptococcus A bacterium. Chloe was also found to have the swine flu H1N1 virus. It is not possible to say to what degree swine flu contributed to her death."

Dr Louise Irvine of the Amersham Vale practice in Lewisham said patients can suffer septic shock when the infection gets into the bloodstream.

"In most cases of tonsillitis the infection stays localised and if the infection does get into the bloodstream the body has antibodies to fight and kill it. But sometimes with bad luck people can become very ill very quickly."

Laurence Buckman, a GP from Finchley who is also chairman of the British Medical Association, said: "A GP could go their whole career without seeing a case of toxic shock caused by the bacteria."

Mark Porter, a GP in south Gloucestershire, said the chances of an otherwise healthy child developing a fatal reaction to a combination of bacterial infection and influenza were "probably less than one in a million".

Chloe, who went to St Catherine's School in West Drayton, died 48 hours after complaining of a sore throat.

It has been reported that her family doctor diagnosed tonsillitis and sent her home without Tamiflu. Her parents later said they were happy with the care she received.

The finding came as a Scottish teenager became the 30th person in Britain to die after contracting the virus and

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said the NHS was facing its "biggest challenge in a generation".