Birmingham swine flu girl "suffered in her short life", father tells inquest
Paul Jenkins, headteacher at Mayfield School, which caters for children with a range of special needs, said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Sameerah's family at this time.
"She was a wonderful, happy child and her death is a great loss to the school community. She will be sadly missed by everyone here. Support is being made available to pupils and staff within the school."
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said the school, in Heathfield Road, Handsworth, was closed today for operational reasons.
During the inquest, Mr Cotter told Mr Ahmad, who lives with his wife, that he was releasing more information about Sameerah's death than was usual at an 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 West Midlands has been declared a hotspot for swine flu, with 2,104 confirmed cases so far, more than a third of the UK's total and more than two-fifths of all the cases in England.
Yesterday 1,604 cases new cases were confirmed in England since Friday, taking the country's total to 4,968 and the UK's total so far to 5,937.
Sameerah is the third patient with the virus to die in the UK, although it is not yet known if the disease contributed directly to her death.
A 73-year-old man from the Inverclyde area died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Scotland, on Saturday night.
The unnamed man, who had serious underlying health conditions, had been treated in the hospital's intensive care unit for the past 15 days.
The first UK death, Jacqui Fleming, 38, who had just given birth prematurely, died two weeks ago at the same hospital. She had other health problems.
Last week health officials said the West Midlands, along with London which has 1,564 confirmed cases so far, would adopt a policy of outbreak management, with swine flu cases being clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory results.
The new policy means swabbing will take place only for a small number of cases to keep track of the strength of the virus. Doctors will also use the drug Tamiflu more selectively, targeting only people with symptoms.
The drug is unlikely to be handed out to everyone who has come into contact with a swine flu sufferer as a precaution.
Chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson stressed that many parts of the country were still in the containment phase. But he warned there could be "tens of thousands of cases" of swine flu each week by the autumn because the virus is more likely to thrive in the colder months.
Sir Liam said: "We still think we are heading for the largest surge of cases in the autumn and winter."
