Official: Student didn't die of H1N1
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 11, 2009 1:46 PM
An 8-year-old Spring Creek Elementary School student who died over the weekend was not believed to have H1N1, a county medical examiner said Thursday.
Jorge Silva, 8, died Sunday at Wayne Memorial Hospital. He was a third-grader at Spring Creek.
Soon after news of the child's sudden passing was made public, speculation ranged from pneumonia to H1N1 as the cause.
Dr. Phillip Moye, county medical examiner, contacted the News-Argus on Thursday in an attempt to dispel rumors. He said he was familiar with the case, having sent the child's body to Chapel Hill for an autopsy.
"It will be several weeks before results are known," Moye said. "But he has been excluded from the H1N1 virus."
Moye said he had notified the superintendent of schools and other health officials, and had been asked to release a statement in an effort to quell concerns.
"I don't want there to be any worry about the kids or the school or in the community," Moye said.