Khalife Says Pregnant Woman Died of Swine Flu, Husband Not Convinced
Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalife confirmed that a pregnant woman from eastern Lebanon has died of swine flu.
He said tests conducted at Rafik Hariri hospital in Beirut revealed that the woman, identified as Zeinab Ali al-Deni, has died of the A(H1N1) virus.
Zeinab, 27, a mother of two, was eight months pregnant.
Khalife said pregnant women should "worry" about swine flu.
He said, however, that the severity of the flu in Lebanon did not so far lead to serious situations in classrooms.
Khalife accused both parents and schools of "negligence."
He blamed "parents who send their children to school although they have symptoms of the virus, and at the same time, schools that receive children with these cases."
Khalife”s announcement came shortly before comments made by Zeinab”s husband, Ayman al-Sarghani, who had doubts about the results of the H1N1 test.
Sarghani, from the Fikani neighborhood near Zahle, demanded an independent autopsy to determine Zeinab”s cause of death.
He said a WHO representative who "came to Fikani neighborhood and checked Zeinab denied the existence of symptoms of this virus."