Sean Hughes, from Dublin, passed away in hospital on Friday
A 15-year-old boy died from the ‘flu’, his heartbroken parents have revealed as the death toll from the killer virus continues to escalate.
Sean Hughes, from Dublin, passed away in hospital on Friday – after being rushed for emergency treatment the evening before.
Doctors were adamant the aspiring rapper, known to his friends as Lil’ Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday.
His death comes as the known toll of flu fatalities sits at 93 across England and Scotland. Up to 10 are known to have died in Ireland while a precise figure is unavailable for Northern Ireland or Wales.
At least three other fatalities have come to light in recent days, and include 18-year-old Scottish girl, Bethany Walker, who died from one of the flu bugs sweeping the UK.
The majority of cases have been blamed on H3N2, an aggressive strain of influenza A known as ‘Aussie flu’ after it rocked Australia during its winter.
However, a less severe subtype of influenza B, dubbed ‘Japanese flu’, which has triggered the majority of cases in the UK could also be responsible.
Projections also claim that the flu will become an epidemic within two weeks, with the home nations being hit by the aggressive flu strains.
Tributes have flooded in for Sean, who was ‘loved by everyone’ and described as a ‘larger-than-life young man’ who was ‘way ahead of his years’.
Speaking at their family home, his grieving father Joe told the Irish Sun at the weekend: ‘We are still waiting for answers.

Doctors were adamant the aspiring rapper, known to his friends as Lil’ Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday
‘It was a very bad chest infection to start off with and there were complications after that.
‘He went into the hospital. He had the chest infection a few days before that. He just passed away after a sudden illness.’
His mother, Karen, revealed they took him to the GP on Wednesday – two days before he died – to discuss his flu-like symptoms.
The doctor said ‘he has the flu’. His condition rapidly worsened and he was taken to Temple Street Hospital on the Thursday.
His parents are reluctant to talk about Sean’s death because they can’t confirm that it was the flu that killed him.
Hundreds of relatives, friends and locals have since visited the family’s home to pay their respects for the young rapper.
Touching stories of how Sean, a fan of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, helped the elderly and bullying victims have also been unearthed.
His father plans to give out some of his CDs in the next few days as the community copes with the ‘big impact’ his death has had.
At least three other fatalities have come to light in recent days, and include 18-year-old Scottish girl, Bethany Walker, who died from one of the flu bugs sweeping the UK.
Miss Walker, of Applecross in northern Scotland, passed away from pneumonia, which was triggered by the virus, last week. Her death made national headlines.

Tributes have flooded in for Sean, who was ‘loved by everyone’ and described as a ‘larger-than-life young man’ who was ‘way ahead of his years’ (pictured with unnamed family members)
Scores have also taken to social media to describe their ordeal as they battle the virus, with some declaring they have been left ‘suicidal’ during their battles with the virus.
The rocketing number of flu cases has been put down to a surge in two aggressive subtypes attacking the population simultaneously.
One includes the so-called ‘Aussie flu’, a strain of influenza A which triggered triple the number of expected cases in Australia during the country’s winter.
Experts fear the virulent H3N2 strain, which has now reached the UK, could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people.
The other is a strain of influenza B, called Yamagata and dubbed ‘Japanese flu’, which has been blamed for the majority of cases so far this winter. Its rapid spread has raised concerns because it is not covered in a vaccine given to the elderly.
Currently, Scotland is reporting the highest number of GP consultations for flu in the UK – rising from 46.3 per 100,000 people to 107.2 per 100,000 people.
This is more than double the amount in Northern Ireland (52.6) and almost triple that of Wales (38.9). In contrast, England’s rate is 37.3.
Officials class an outbreak as reaching epidemic levels when flu-like symptoms being reported in GP consultations hit a certain rate.
Each of the home nations has a different level, with England’s being set at 109 cases per 100,000 people. In Scotland it is 419, Northern Ireland 142 and Wales 75.
Between the last week of December, dubbed 51, and the first week of January, dubbed one, England saw a 77 per cent jump in flu symptoms.
Using this percentage, MailOnline predicted that England will reach epidemic levels by week three – before the end of January.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all saw jumps of between 131 and 132 per cent in flu symptoms. These figures were used for their projections.
Scotland and Northern Ireland will hit epidemic levels at the same time as England. Wales will reach its epidemic threshold by next week, if current trends continue.