A TRAGIC schoolgirl who was suffering from swine flu died after having an epileptic fit which may have been triggered by the virus, an inquest heard.

Little Asmaa Hussain, who was one of the first people in the country with swine flu to die, lost her fight for life on July 2, this year, after choking on her own vomit when she had a fit on the sofa of her home in Dewsbury.

Bradford coroner Roger Whittaker recorded a verdict of natural causes for the tragic eight-year-old yesterday .

He said: “She died of inhalation of gastric content during an epileptic fit.

“The swine flu infection may have triggered the fit, but the swine flu itself would not have caused her death”.

Dr Philip Bateman, a consultant pathologist at Bradford Royal Infirmary, carried out Asmaa’s post mortem on July 7 and told the coroner’s court the little girl had underlying health problems.

He said: “There was a developmental delay and she suffered convulsions from 2002.

“She was last seen by doctors on May 1, 2008, when her mother said she was still having regular fits”.

Asmaa fell ill on June 29 this year, suffering from a cough and a temperature, the court heard.

Dr Bateman said: “On July 1 she was vomiting and had a temperature. A fellow pupil at her school had tested positive for swine flu. On July 2, all the family appeared to have some symptoms.

“Asmaa was given Tamiflu, but she vomited and brought the tablets back up”.

Asmaa’s mother left the room to feed her baby and when she returned the schoolgirl was having a fit on the sofa, Dr Bateman told the inquest.

He said: “She was blue in the face and taking deep breaths. She coughed up blood and fluid”.

The schoolgirl was taken to Dewsbury District Hospital, where she died just after 11pm on July 2.

The post mortem revealed she was suffering from swine flu, as well as a bacterial infection.

But Dr Bateman said: “Without the underlying health issues she would not have died of swine flu”.

At the time of her death, her uncle Ghulam Rasoo, 48, said the family were not aware she had swine flu until a doctor took a sample and confirmed the illness.

He said: “She had had epilepsy since birth but had been quite well for the past two years.

“A normal little girl, she had been playing all day with her brother and sister. If she had swine flu it didn’t seem particularly serious”.

In a tragic twist, the inquest of Asmaa’s father, Mehrban Hussain, was held in Bradford Coroner’s Court immediately after that of his daughter.

The 33-year-old died of acute pancreatitis just two months before his daughter’s sudden death.

The shop worker had complained of pain on May 7 this year and an ambulance was called when he collapsed at his home the following day, but sadly the dad died on arrival at the hospital.

Asmaa had three brothers and one sister – one brother is older and two are younger. Her seven-year-old sister also had the flu and was taking tablets for it.

The family were too upset to attend the inquests.