Posted at: 11/04/2009 7:52 AM

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First Iowa Child Dies of Swine Flu

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The first child in Iowa has died of swine flu.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said Tuesday that the child died in October and was from eastern Iowa. The department says the child had factors that increased the risk of swine flu complications.

Department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm says six Iowa adults have died from swine flu.

The department's medical director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, says the child's death should be reminder to protect Iowa children from swine flu. Quinlisk says "surveillance is showing a steady increase in pediatric illness and hospitalizations."

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