A 6-year-old Peel girl is the fourth person in Ontario to die with Swine Flu.

The child died last Monday, only a day after she began experiencing flu-like symptoms, Ontario's Medical Officer of Health Dr. Arlene King told a news conference this afternoon.

The H1N1 virus "appears to have been a factor in her death," King said, adding that the coroner's office is still investigating the death and trying to determine exactly what role the bug played.

An autopsy was performed and it was only determined on Friday, four days after the girl's death, that she had the virus.

Health officials are trying to determine if she had an underlying medical condition that her family or doctor hadn't known about.

Individuals with health problems such as diabetes, cardiac disease or even asthma are more susceptible to suffer serious complications from influenza.

It is not known how she contracted the virus, though two members of her extended family have also had it.

Letters have been sent home to the parents of other students at the girl's school, advising them of the death. Parents are not being urged to keep their children home from school.

She is the youngest Ontario resident to die of the virus, which is known to affect younger people more.

King emphasized that the virus is so far not much different than regular seasonal flu, which kills 300 Ontarians each year.

This year, three Ontario residents under the age of 19 have died of seasonal flu.

-Torstar News Service