Perth teenager dies of the flu days after being discharged from hospital

The 13-year-old was complaining of aches and pains the day she was discharged from the Perth hospital.

A 13-year-old girl has been found unconscious in her Perth home just days after being sent home from the hospital with the flu. She was not able to be revived.

Sharney Lee Mitchell was diagnosed with Influenza A on August 12 and spent the night at Joondalup Health Campus in northern Perth.

Despite the teen complaining of flu-like symptoms such as aches and pains, the hospital discharged her the following day. 

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Sharney died five days after being discharged from the hospital. Picture: 7News

Teenager dies five days after being discharged from hospital

Five days later, on Sunday morning, Sharney was found unresponsive in her bed.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, she could not be saved. 

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According to the 7News report, WA Police were called to the scene but did not find anything suspicious.

The Department of Health is waiting on a post-mortem report to determine her exact cause of death.

Ramsay Health, which operates the Perth hospital, told reporters the teenager was medically cleared to be discharged from the hospital, reporting a normal chest X-ray and no fever. 

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It’s unknown how or why her condition deteriorated so quickly in the days following her discharge from the hospital. 

Now, her family wants to know why she was discharged from the hospital despite her complaints of flu-like symptoms.  

Symptoms of the flu can include fever and chills, headache, lethargy or tiredness, cough, sore throat, sneezing or runny nose and muscle aches and joint pain. 

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It’s a highly contagious infection that can quickly spread by body fluids; there are many different strains of the flu, which can change every year. Untreated, the flu can lead to severe health complications, including breathing difficulties, pneumonia and death. 

Australian health authorities recommend vaccination to stop the spread of the flu and recommend a flu vaccine every year for those above six months of age.

The teenager’s family are urging others to understand the severity of the viral infection. 

This year, there have been 302,952 confirmed cases of influenza, according to Australia’s National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, up from the 289,128 cases it reported the year before. 

This year marks the highest number since 2019 when 313,453 cases were reported. 

In the first seven months of the year, seven people in Western Australia died as a result of the flu.

Originally published as Perth teenager dies of the flu days after being discharged from hospital