A BOY aged 10 died at Scotland's flagship hospital after contracting an infection linked to pigeon droppings.

The Crown Office confirmed it was investigating the death, our sister title The Herald reports.

The Evening Times revealed a child, believed to be suffering form cancer, had died after contracting the cryptococcal infection.

The Health Secretary Jeane Freeman then confirmed on Tuesday that a child was one of two patients who had died after testing positive for the fungus, Cryptococcus, at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. The infection was named as a contributory factor in the child's death.

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The age of the child has now been confirmed.

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A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report in connection with the death of a 10 year-old boy at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in December 2018.

“The investigation into the death, under the direction of Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU), is ongoing and the family will be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”

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The boy is one of two patients to date who has died while infected with Cryptococcus, an airborne bug originating in pigeon droppings which is believed to have been spread through the hospital's ventilation system.

A second elderly woman who tested positive for the bug in November was already seriously ill. She died in January, but the cause of death was said to be unrelated to the infection.

The Crown Office said it has "not yet received a report concerning the death of this woman at the same location in January of this year but we have requested further information".