JEDDAH: The Health Ministry has launched a probe into claims by a mother that her son died from swine flu he had picked up in a local hospital. Five-year-old Mishaal Abdullah died on Nov. 22 last year. He had reportedly been sick when admitted to the Al-Aziziyah Maternity and Children’s Hospital. His family claimed that he had been placed next to a swine flu patient, who infected him and contributed to his death. The boy’s mother was quoted as saying that she had taken him to the hospital suffering from cramps caused by a previous illness. She claimed that the hospital did not provide him with professional treatment, including not giving him the correct dose of medication.

When the cramps continued for 90 minutes, she claimed the doctor then realized the dose was too low and gave him three more doses.