Toronto teen dies of H1N1 flu

A 13-year-old minor league hockey player from Toronto has died of the H1N1 virus, Toronto Public Health confirmed Tuesday.

Evan Frustaglio began developing flu-like symptoms during a hockey tournament in London, Ont., over the weekend, said his father, Paul Frustaglio. After returning to Toronto early Sunday, his parents took him to a local walk-in clinic, where he was examined and sent home.

After the boy reportedly collapsed on the floor of his family home Monday morning, Paul Frustaglio rushed his son to St. Joseph's Health Centre, where he died. "It was like lightning ... that's how quickly it was."

“It is always a tragedy when a child dies,” said Dr. David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health for the City of Toronto, at a Tuesday afternoon press conference. “As a parent and as a health care worker, I extend my sympathies to the boy’s family, his friends at school and his hockey community.”

Dr. McKeown also reassured those who played hockey with Evan on the weekend. "Those who had contact with this boy are not at higher risk of contracting H1N1," he said.

In response to the death, Toronto Public Health announced Tuesday afternoon that public vaccination clinics will launch on Thursday instead of next Monday. Even so, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Arlene King, characterized his death as "a very rare occurrence."

Frustaglio was a player with the Greater Toronto Hockey League's Mississauga North Stars minor bantam AA team.

GTHL president John Gardner said Tuesday that a team meeting was held Monday night to inform the players of Frustaglio's death.

"It's a tragedy, first of all, when any 13-year-old (dies)," said Gardner, urging parents not to panic. "We're monitoring the situation very closely. I think the big thing here is we don't want parents to have a knee-jerk reaction. . . . These things, unfortunately, can happen in school or any place."

Mississauga North Stars president Peter Johnson added that the team has cancelled two games this week and has brought in grief counsellors for the other boys.

"We have heightened, across the organization, the defensive steps we need to take," said Johnson. "We are taking steps because we can't take any chances, but officially we don't know (what he died from); it's all just rumour right now."

Johnson said he knew of one other boy on the team who was sick and staying home.

He did not want to comment further out of respect for the family.

"All that is private. Dealing with grief is a private thing."

It is not clear if Frustaglio had any other underlying conditions. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

Paul Frustaglio said he wanted to remember his son as a "fun-loving kid" who liked to be the centre of attention, would help anybody and loved life.

"You do what you do as a parent to protect your kid," he said, sobbing. "We couldn't protect him."

Frustaglio is the second young person to have died of swine flu within the last week.

Also on the weekend, a preteen girl from Eastern Ontario was admitted to hospital in Ottawa where she died of the H1N1 flu virus, according to Paul Roumeliotis, medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.

The deaths coincided with the nationwide release of a vaccine for the virus.

On Monday, health authorities in Ontario suggested that all those under the age of 18 should get the vaccine.

"I think it's quite appropriate for us to say now that we want to vaccinate all school-age children this week," said Roumeliotis.

As the vaccinations began Monday, thousands of at-risk Canadians waited patiently in long queues to be among the first to receive the H1N1 shot. Lines containing hundreds of people snaked through shopping malls, arenas and community centres, as mothers and fathers pushing strollers, seniors, pregnant women and other Canadians believed to be most at risk of serious flu complications lined up before clinics opened.