A heartbroken family have released pictures of their nine-year-old son, believed to be the youngest person to die from flu in the UK this winter.
Coby Simons, from Exeter, passed away on January 24 – two days after being struck down with the killer virus. His parents initially asked for his identity to be hidden.
Public Health England at the time confirmed the gifted maths pupil tested positive for flu. He becomes the sixth victim across the UK to have been named.
Tributes have flooded in for the year 5 pupil, who was shown to have influenza B in his post-mortem. He was described as ‘absolutely perfect’ by his parents.
The deadly flu outbreak has claimed at least 231 lives in the UK this winter, but is now on the decline as cases have peaked and are now ‘stabilising’.
Coby Simons, from Exeter, passed away on January 24 – two days after being struck down with the killer virus
Speaking to DevonLive, his mother Louise said: ‘He deserves the best. We are trying to arrange all the things we know he would love.
‘It is giving me something to do and focus on rather than just being sat here on my own.
‘He was just such a lovely boy. He was absolutely perfect; I wouldn’t have changed anything about him, not even when he was in a bad mood.’
Coby reportedly started to feel ill on January 18 – six days before he eventually died at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
However, his condition took a turn for the worse on January 22 and he deteriorated two days later.
His post-mortem also revealed he had streptococcus pneumoniae, a common cause of pneumonia. It could take 12 weeks before his cause of death is confirmed.
Coby’s funeral has been arranged for February 23, arriving in a horse-drawn hearse at Exeter Crematorium, followed by two Hummer limousines carrying his family.
The words ‘I’m bored’, the schoolboy’s favourite saying according to his father Jamie, will be crafted into a floral tribute.
His parent’s biggest wish is to play a personalised version of Ed Sheeran’s Supermarket Flowers, which he is believed to have written as a tribute to his grandmother.
They have changed the words to refer to Coby and their dream is for Ed Sheeran to be able to send them a recording of him singing their version.
But the family say just being giving permission to play their version by his management would bring them great comfort at such a devastating time.
And his square-coffin will be painted black and embellished with the logo of his favourite YouTube star Logan Paul, DevonLive reports.
One hundred purple balloons, and four silver ones spelling his name, will be released into the sky when the service finishes. They will all be full of personalised messages.
Coby’s room will also be transformed into a ‘quiet’ space, with his bed and favourite toys kept there for when family and friends want to remember him.
Public Health England at the time confirmed the gifted maths pupil tested positive for flu
Tributes have flooded in for the pupil, who was shown to have influenza B in his post-mortem
REVEALED: THE UK VICTIMS WHO DIED FROM FLU DURING THE WINTER OF 2017/18
Dylan Day, 12, died from flu, his heartbroken parents revealed.
The schoolboy, from Stoke-on-Trent, passed away after developing sepsis, triggered by a a strain of influenza B he was fighting, on January 20.
Tributes flooded in for the keen footballer, with family and friends describing him as an ‘amazing’ and ‘cheeky’ young boy who will be ‘greatly missed’.
Dylan’s mother Sarah announced his death in a poignant Facebook post, revealing he had ‘really suffered’ before his eventual death.
Bethany Walker, 18, died after taking ill at home – initially from flu symptoms which later developed into pneumonia.
Miss Walker, of Applecross, Scotland, was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died later on January 5.
Tributes poured in on social media. Her mother Heather Teale wrote on Facebook: ‘My beautiful Daughter Bethany Walker was taken from me.
Miss Walker wanted to study midwifery and was due to head for Aberdeen University later this year.
Melanie Coombs, 56, who defied her death sentence and beat terminal cancer three times died from ‘Aussie flu’.
Ms Coombs, from Hailsham, East Sussex, eventually succumbed to pneumonia and passed away in hospital shortly after Christmas.
Her grieving son, Anthony Butler, 30, believes the deadly H3N2 strain of influenza A, dubbed ‘Aussie flu’ was responsible for his mother’s eventual death.
Speaking about his ‘inspirational’ mother’s ordeal for the first time, he told Mirror Online: ‘She said, “cancer won’t kill me” – and she was right.
Owen Hardy, 95, from Chichester, lost his battle to the bug on January 4. His family said his death is a ‘huge loss for the nation’.
The World War II Spitfire veteran died after contracting one of the killer flu strains that is currently circulating the UK, his grieving daughter revealed.
During his time serving for the RAF in the war, the wing commander’s heroics saw him be awarded the top medal for valour – the Legion d’Honneur.
His heartbroken daughter, Debbie Elliott, told the Chichester Observer: ‘It’s a huge loss. We’re all devastated. He has left a huge gap in all of our lives.
Sean Hughes, from Dublin, died from the ‘flu’ on January 12, his heartbroken parents revealed days after.
The 15-year-old, who was an aspiring rapper, passed away in hospital after being rushed for emergency treatment the evening before.
Doctors were adamant Sean, known to his friends as Lil’ Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday.
Tributes 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’.
The deadly flu outbreak has claimed at least 231 lives in the UK this winter, but is now on the decline as cases have peaked and are now ‘stabilising’
Speaking to DevonLive, his mother Louise said: ‘He deserves the best. We are trying to arrange all the things we know he would love’
Describing Coby’s character which matched his cheeky smile, Ms Simons said: ‘If you gave him any indication of fear for anything he would use that to prank you such as a clown mask he would scare Jamie’s girlfriend with all the time.
‘He was fussy with his food but he liked cooking and it meant he would try things. One of the coolest things we made together was “aquarium cookies”.
‘One of the strangest was bangers and mash sausage rolls which my work colleagues loved. Coby didn’t like them!’
In his day-to-day life Coby loved going to school and excelled in maths.
Ms Simons said: ‘He was a totally different child at school. He got struck into all of his work and if any child was struggling the teacher would put them next to Coby as he would help them.’
His father, Jamie, a stonemason, added: ‘He was unbelievable at maths.
‘He would always fire maths questions at people when we were sat around the table. His aunty, my sister, would always get it wrong.’
His death was first reported on January 26, and at the time his headteacher at St Martin’s Church of England Primary School paid a heartfelt tribute for him.
They said: ‘At this time of unimaginable loss our love, thoughts and prayers are with his family.
‘Your special little boy brought so much to our school and it is so very sad that he is no longer with us.
‘He always had a real hunger to learn and a desire to do well. He was well liked by children and adults – he had a good group of friends and really enjoyed laughing and playing with them.
‘He was gifted academically, particularly in maths where he excelled and, even though he was only in Year 5, he was learning alongside the Year 6 class. We will all miss him so very much in so many ways.’
The South of England, which is what region Devon sits in, was being hit the worst by flu-like symptoms, according to national surveillance statistics at the time.
GP figures showed 59.6 consultations per 100,000 report flu symptoms in South England – above the national average.
Dr Bayad Nozad, consultant in health protection for Public Health England (PHE) South West, said at the time: ‘We are aware of the very sad death of a young person who was confirmed to have had influenza infection.
‘Our thoughts are with the family at this tragic time.
‘The exact cause of death is yet to be established, therefore we are not yet able to comment on whether flu was the cause of death.’
Aged nine, Coby was not eligible for a free NHS flu vaccine that is given to at-risk patients, such as the elderly and toddlers.
Coby reportedly started to feel ill on January 18 – six days before he eventually died at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
Coby’s funeral has been arranged for February 23, arriving in a horse-drawn hearse at Exeter Crematorium, followed by two Hummer limousines carrying his family
His death followed the news that a 12-year-old boy died from the killer flu outbreak this winter, his heartbroken parents revealed last month.
Dylan Day, from Stoke-on-Trent, passed away after developing sepsis, a reaction that was triggered by a a strain of influenza B, last weekend.
Tributes flooded in for the keen footballer, with family and friends describing him as a ‘brave, loving and polite’ young boy who will be ‘greatly missed’.
Dylan’s mother Sarah Day announced his death in a poignant Facebook post, revealing he had ‘really suffered’ before he died on January 20.
Health agencies for each of the home nations monitor ‘excess deaths’ – how many more people die than expected – to give a rough estimate of flu deaths.
However, Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency all provide data on how many have died in intensive care.
There were 30 new deaths recorded in England last week, and one was recorded in both Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Government figures released last week revealed so far 193 deaths have been recorded in England, 26 in Scotland and 12 in Northern Ireland. No precise data exists for Wales.
This means the death toll of 231 is likely to only be a fraction of the true number. A rough victim count will be tallied at some point later this year.
Deaths have already risen to a ‘statistically significant’ amount in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England – but has yet to breach the level set in Wales.
How can flu be deadly?
Flu often leaves sufferers feeling sick and riddled with a constant cough and runny nose. However, in extreme cases it can be deadly.
It poses the biggest risks to the elderly, young children, pregnant women and those with a compromised immune system.
It can lead to pneumonia and also trigger sepsis – an infection that sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs.
Nearly 12,000 people having been left hospitalised in France and more than 30 dead from the same strains of flu circulating the UK
Thousands have been hospitalised by flu across the home nations, as four strains of the killer virus attack the population, including the ‘Aussie’ and ‘Japanese’ strains.
The latter is believed to be responsible for nearly half the hospitalisations recorded, while the dreaded H3N2 strain that rocked Australia caused a sixth of them.
Running low on the vaccine
The figures came after a third of GP practices were revealed to have run out of flu vaccines or be running low – despite repeated urges for at-risk patients to get their free jab.
Richard Pebody, acting head of the respiratory diseases department at Public Health England, two weeks ago announced that flu is ‘starting to peak’.
He said: ‘We are currently seeing a mix of flu types, including the A(H3N2) strain that circulated last winter in the UK and then in Australia and flu B.
‘It’s important to practice good respiratory and hand hygiene to reduce the risk of spreading flu and other cause of coughs and colds.’
The outbreak is piling extra pressure on an over-stretched NHS with conditions the worst some doctors claim to have seen.
Officials have warned this winter’s flu outbreak is the ‘most significant’ in seven years – but graphs suggest it has peaked and is slowing down.
Patients considered at-risk, the elderly, young children and pregnant women, have repeatedly been urged to ensure they are vaccinated.
How many people suffering from flu-like symptoms in the UK?
Figures from PHE and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimate 7.1 per cent of people have been left suffering flu-like illness in the past week.
This equates to around 4.5 million people in the UK – which has more than halved in the space of a week, according to the data released today.
WHY IS H3N2 CALLED AUSSIE FLU? HOW AUSTRALIA WAS ROCKED BY THE KILLER STRAIN THAT HAS SPREAD TO UK, US AND EUROPE
Some of the country’s A&E units had ‘standing room only’ after being swamped by more than 100,000 cases of the H3N2 strain
Australia – whose winter occurs during the British summer – had one of its worst outbreaks on record, with two and a half times the normal number of cases.
Some of the country’s A&E units had ‘standing room only’ after being swamped by more than 100,000 cases of the H3N2 strain.
The elderly with their compromised immune systems are particularly susceptible, and a spike in cases among young children has also been shown.
The flu season in the UK and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere tends to mirror what has happened in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
The same strains of the virus will circulate north in time for the British flu season, which typically begins in November and lasts until March.
Flu viruses are constantly changing proteins on their surface to avoid detection by the body’s immune system – making it more deadly.
This transformation is called an ‘antigenic shift’ if it’s large enough, and can lead to a pandemic. This was responsible for the swine flu outbreak in 2009.
The Aussie flu is transforming quickly, but not fast enough for experts to describe it as a shift. However, it is slowly building up immunity.
The dominating B strain
Public Health England data shows so far this season the B strains are dominating, which experts have blamed on an ineffective flu vaccine that GPs were urged to purchase before the season began.
Leaked files showed that NHS England asked doctors to purchase the trivalent jab – which offers no protection against the B Yamagata strain, referred to as ‘Japanese flu’.
Health bosses blamed the rapidly escalating cases of flu for their controversial decision to cancel 55,000 operations at the beginning of January.
The same move was also made by French officials as the European country also battled an epidemic of ‘exceptional magnitude’.
Nearly 12,000 people having been left hospitalised in France and more than 30 dead, figures earlier this month revealed.
Flu is also ‘actively circulating’ in Ireland, with at least 24 people known to have lost their lives to the killer virus so far in this winter’s outbreak.
And in the US, flu has gripped every state except Hawaii, according to the most recent data released by the CDC.