A Newcastle teenager has become the latest victim of Australia’s deadly flu outbreak after being struck down with the illness four weeks ago.
Nathan Brown, 19, died Friday morning following a battle against influenza A, which saw him admitted to hospital in August and put into a medically induced coma.
He had been suffering complications including kidney failure, acute pneumonia, a staph infection and collapsed lungs, according to the Newcastle Herald.
New South Wales teen Nathan Brown (pictured) has become the latest victim of Australia’s deadly flu outbreak after he died Friday morning
Devastated friends and family of the avid fisherman took to social media following his death to express their sorrow.
‘We had some good memories back when we were young fellas, heart wrenching to hear you’ve passed away, rest in peace mate,’ one person wrote.
While another friend added: ‘Life is so cruel. I’ll treasure all the memories we’ve shared over the years Nath. Sending my condolences to the family in this hard time.’
Nathan’s uncle Peter Brown said the family had been praying for a positive outcome and had been keeping a bedside vigil since he got sick.
‘It just goes to show that this flu can attack anybody,’ Mr Brown said earlier this week.
‘It really can hit you no matter what age you are. If a very fit and healthy 19 year old can be struck down as badly as him… It has come as a big shock to everybody.’
The 19-year-old (pictured) spent weeks in intensive care and in an induced-coma after suffering complications from the influenza A strain
Devastated friends and family of the avid fisherman took to social media following his death, with one person writing: ‘Life is so cruel. I’ll treasure all the memories we’ve shared over the years Nath’
A Go Fund Me page was set up to support the ‘extremely sick man’ following his hospitalisation, raising more than $11,000 in just eight days.
Mr Brown, who created the page, wrote that the sickness was an ‘insipid illness’ and that ‘no kid deserves what he is going through’.
Experts from the Influenza Specialist Group estimate that influenza’s various strains can cause more than 18,000 hospitalisations each year, with up to 20 per cent of the population becoming afflicted.
This year the flu season is believed to have peaked mid-August, affecting double the number of people than it did last year, with more than 180,000 people falling ill.
NSW recorded the highest number of flu cases with 288 flu related deaths, including three children, while in Victoria there were 95 flu related deaths.
Australia has seen its worst flu season in years, with hundreds dying from the illness including Canberra mother-of-two Jennifer Thew (pictured)
Ben Ihlow (pictured) died on September 3 after a week-long battle with the flu, leaving behind his wife, Samantha, and 10-month-old son, Andrew
The 19-year-old death comes just days after a Canberra mother-of-two died as a result of influenza.
Jennifer Thew died from acute respiratory distress syndrome after she and her seven-year-old daughter caught the flu.
While a 30-year-old Victorian man also died from the illness on what was meant to be his first Father’s Day as a parent.
Ben Ihlow passed away on September 3 after a week-long battle with influenza, leaving behind his wife, Samantha, and 10-month-old son, Andrew.
And 33-year-old Sarah Hawthorn is fighting for her life in The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, after delivering her son six weeks early to give herself a chance of survival.
The new mother is in a critical condition after catching the flu in the late stages of pregnancy and is yet to hold her baby boy.
33-year-old Sarah Hawthorn (pictured) is also in a critical condition at The Alfred Hospital after becoming sick with the flu and is yet to hold her baby boy, who was born early on August 28