Family members of the only swine flu fatality in the state said the child was a “healthy boy” and that the family was unaware the boy suffered from asthma.
Luis Alexandro Munoz, 9, died on June 9 from complications caused by the H1N1 virus, Health Department officials announced Tuesday. Health officials have been secretive about the identity of the child and the circumstances surrounding the death.
The family did not learn about Munoz’s asthma condition until the Health Department’s releases statement on the death on Tuesday, a week after the boy’s death, his uncle said Thursday.
But Claudio Munoz said the family took Munoz to the hospital after he fell ill just days before he died. The family thought the child had bronchitis, but a family doctor who examined Munoz sent him back home with some medication. Once back home, Munoz’s condition worsened rapidly and the family rushed the boy to the emergency room at Baptist Hospital, where he died less than 24 hours later.
It’s unclear where Munoz may have contracted swine flu, but the boy was a student at Gulfstream Elementary School, a parent told NBC6. Claudio Munoz also said his nephew went to "the Marlins school." Gulfstream's school mascot is the marlins.
Miami-Dade Health Department and School Board officials have declined to comment on the issue.
In the press release announcing the state’s first swine flu death, the Heath Department does state “the child was not contagious when he attended the school,” but does not name the school.
