Sick bunker children moved to Hanover in the MHH

Flu symptoms also in the siblings of the deceased girl
An eight-year-old girl died in the night of Easter Monday after a flu virus. Since the family lives in a converted bunker on an old military site, a poisoning by military legacies could not be ruled out initially. Now, flu-like symptoms have also surfaced in the girl's siblings, two of whom appear to be in critical condition, according to a report in the Bild Zeitung. Currently, doctors at Hannover Medical School (MHH) are fighting for the lives of children.

Family lives on former military site
At Uni-Klinikum Essen, an eight-year-old girl died on the night of Easter Monday. Five days earlier, according to the news channel "n-tv" with severe flu symptoms, the child was first taken to the hospital in Geldern and then transferred to Essen on Easter Sunday. The cause of death remained unclear at first. Since the family lives in a converted ammunition bunker on a former military area ("Traberpark Den Heyberg"), it could not be ruled out that the child had died from toxic substances. For until 1974, the British armed forces had deposited ammunition on the site, later it was used by the Bundeswehr. As of 2010, some of the bunkers were converted into holiday and residential buildings, and there are restaurants and playgrounds available. The authorities immediately inspected the place of residence in Kevelaer, but the samples showed no evidence of such a burden.

The children of a family living on a former military site were transferred to the Hannover Medical School with flu-like symptoms. (Image: sudok1 / fotolia.com)

Rare disease destroys the muscle fibers
The autopsy of the girl finally resulted in the so-called "rhabdomyolysis" as a cause of death. This is a rare disease in which the striated muscles (heart and skeletal muscle) dissolve in the body. As a result, a large amount of the muscle protein myoglobin is released, which can pass through the bloodstream to the kidneys and cause severe damage there. Cause of rhabdomyolysis can be e.g. a violation of the musculature, autoimmune diseases or muscle inflammation. Likewise, e.g. various metabolic disorders, viral infections and certain medications as a trigger into consideration. The fact that in the deceased girl the assumption that a normally relatively harmless influenza ("influenza B") has caused the disease is probably due to a genetic predisposition, the "image" continues.

Two siblings are in critical condition
Now, this same danger may also exist for the siblings of the deceased eight-year-olds. Because the other children of the family showed after the death of the sister also flu-like symptoms, even with them, the "influenza B" pathogen could be detected. According to the report, two girls, aged six and seven, were transferred to Hannover Medical School (MHH) on Tuesday with a rescue helicopter due to their critical condition. This has the largest children's intensive care in Germany. "Our specialists have treatment methods available to respond to the complex symptoms of illness," the spokesman Stefan Zorn is quoted by the newspaper. By contrast, the two youngest children as well as the mother were able to leave the Kevelaer hospital again. (No)