The swine flu claimed its first victim locally -- a 15-year-old Buffalo boy who was a student at Harvey Austin School 97 on Sycamore Street.

The boy died about 6 p.m. today in Women & Children's Hospital, where he was hospitalized in critical condition. Hospital officials, who had no comment, did not receive the family's consent to talk about the case.

However, the boy has been identified by WIVB-TV, Channel 4, as Matthew Davis, an eight-grader at the school. The boy's mother, Lucretia Belton, told Channel 4 her son suffered complications from swine flu including pneumonia and MRSA, that his kidneys were failing and he was being kept alive by machines.

Buffalo School Superintendent James A. Williams issued the following statement on the boy's death:

"On behalf of the Buffalo Public School District and the Buffalo Board of Education our deepest sympathy is extended to the family of our beloved student. We ask the Buffalo community to remember the student, family, friends, and loved ones in their thoughts and prayers. We have assigned grief counselors to Harvey Austin Public School 97 on Monday morning to provide the necessary support for students and staff."

Meanwhile, Philip Rumore, the president of the city teachers union, issued the following statement on behalf of the district's teachers:

"Our hearts are broken and go out to the family of the student. Let us all be resolved that we are going to do everything that's humanly possible to make sure that no other child goes through what this child and his family has gone through."

A 9-year-old girl is also in Women & Children's with the H1N1 virus, in critical condition. She is a student at the Charles Drew Science Magnet School 59.

Earlier Saturday Rumore accused school district officials of not doing enough to alert parents and district employees to the seriousness of the situation.

"I understand there are privacy regulations, and no one has asked the district to release the names of these students. That's not what we're looking for. We pray for these kids," Rumore said.

"But there are safety issues here for students, parents and employees. People need to be more aware of how serious this is, and the importance of keeping their kids home if they are ill."

Teachers and parents at School 97 and School 59 were notified by the district several days ago that the two students had swine flu, Rumore said, but in his view, the district has not made people aware of the seriousness of the situation.

Those allegations were vehemently denied by a school district spokesman and drew a sharp rebuke from a top district official.

"I caution anyone insisting that teachers are entitled to the private medical information of students beyond what is present in their student records released by parents or included in our notifications. They are not, and that is how it should be," said Will Keresztes, associate superintendent.

"The district does not discuss the status of children confined to hospital beds. Suggesting that we should is irresponsible," he added.

The district over the past two months, has sent at least four letters to the parents of all children in the district about the dangers of the swine flu, according to Stefan Mychajliw, the district's spokesman.

And parents and staffers in schools where students have been stricken have been alerted by telephone and e-mail, said Mychajliw, who sent copies of some of the communications to The Buffalo News.

"I'm blown away that anyone could make the accusation that we have not done enough to notify people," Mychajliw said. "We've done it again and again, and our biggest message has been telling parents, "Don't send a sick child to school.'"

Keresztes said the district has "an effective protocol implemented by our nursing staff, plant employees and building principals based on state and county guidelines."

School officials temporarily shut down the Riverside Institute of Technology after an outbreak of swine flu cases ... officially known as the H1N1 flu virus ... earlier this month.

As of June 18, there have been more than 17,800 laboratory-confirmed cases in the United States, with 1,600 patients hospitalized and 44 deaths, according to Dr. Daniel Jernigan, an epidemiologist in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division.

Worldwide, there have been nearly 40,000 confirmed cases in 88 countries, with 167 deaths.