Swine Flu nearly kills 9-year-old Dutch girl

A 9-year-old girl from Blakel nearly died of the swine flu virus H1N1 in early November, the national institute for public health RIVM reported on its website. The girl made a full recovery, Eindhovens Dagblad reports.

The girl was in a pigsty shortly before falling ill. There were no other reported cases of the virus.

While the RIVM reported the case on its website, as is legally required, the institute did not actively bring the incident to the public's attention. A doctor from the GGD's Infectious Diseases team explained that this is because there was no risk to the public. According to him, the privacy of a patient is only violated for very important reasons.