‘A mere virus’: Perth family’s heartbreaking plea after losing daughter, 2, to the flu

An Aussie family have shared their heartache after their two-year-old daughter died from complications of an extremely common illness.

A Perth family has issued an emotional plea after their two-year-old daughter died from the flu.

In a letter shared by the Immunisation Foundation of Australia, the heartbroken family described how the health of their two-year-old daughter, Aabi, rapidly deteriorated from the virus.

Only a few months away from turning three, Aabi and her family had returned to their home in Perth on April 30 after spending a month abroad in India visiting relatives.

Aabi’s parents said she was “reluctant” to return to daycare, but was sent back the next day.

It was only a few days later that Aabi vomited after eating her regular banana and milk.

Two-year-old Aabi died from the flu in May this year. Picture: Supplied/ Immunisation Foundation of Australia

“I initially thought it was due to her energetic play with her sister,” her mother wrote.

“As I cleaned her, I noticed she felt lukewarm.”

The two-year-old complained of a headache, with her mother giving her a dose of paracetamol syrup and a “gentle forehead massage” that seemed to help.

While Aabi’s mood seemed to improve, her fever - and the niggling headache - returned a short time later.

“(On) Sunday, May 4th, she woke as usual - enjoying two biscuits with my tea, her milk, and then a banana,” her mother wrote.

“She was playing, singing, and seemed well.

“Relieved, I started my regular Sunday household tasks while the girls entertained themselves.”

However by about 11am that morning, Aabi’s temperature was rising again and her headache had returned.

There have been more than 230,000 confirmed cases of the flu in Australia this year alone.

“I sat beside her, waiting for the fever to drop, but it kept climbing,” her mother wrote.

Aabi’s fever kept climbing to 40.6C and she was rushed to hospital, where her dehydration made it difficult for doctors to figure out the problem.

“It felt like she deteriorated significantly and too quickly,” her mother said.

Aabi had a “gentle seizure” while in hospital and was later diagnosed with influenza.

“The decision was made to perform a CT scan and then transfer her to the ICU, as she was highly febrile and partially unconscious,” the letter read.

However, the little girl’s health had deteriorated too quickly for the CT scan to be effective and she instead required an MRI scan.

Aabi’s mum said it was then she believed they had lost their little girl, saying her pupils were non-responsive and “she was beyond anyone’s help”.

In the span of a few days, Aabi had gone from being a “healthy, happy, active, and fun-loving child” to lying unconscious in the hospital bed.

The MRI scan confirmed the worst.

Medical experts are urging families to get vaccinated as flu cases spike. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

“The MRI confirmed total brain death due to acute necrotising encephalitis, a devastating complication of the influenza infection,” her mother wrote.

“The virus’s rapid progression with such minimal initial symptoms – just a normal fever and headache, which so many children her age experience regularly – gave us no indication of the extreme seriousness of the situation.”

Aabi’s mother said doctors suspect her daughter’s immune system reacted “much more aggressively than usual”, which led to “acute inflammation and severe damage to her brain”.

“We lost our beautiful Aabi at the hands of what seemed like a ‘mere virus’,” she said.

“Aabi will forever be two years and nine months old,” her mother wrote, describing her daughter as the “radiant joy of our lives and the very heart of our home”.

Flu spike ‘really concerning’

Immunisation Foundation of Australia founder Catherine Hughes said Aabi’s story was a reminder of the tragic impact influenza can have, and highlights just how vulnerable young children are to infectious diseases.

She said an ongoing spread of misinformation was leading to shockingly low rates of flu vaccination, something she described as a “serious public health concern”.

According to figures from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCRIS), more than 230,000 lab-confirmed flu cases have been reported in the country as of late July.

Less than a quarter of those cases are children under the age of five.

Ms Hughes said the numbers were “really concerning”.

“Many of us might mistakenly think of the flu as ‘just a bad cold’, especially after a mild case,” she told NewsWire.

“However, influenza can be extremely severe, leading to serious complications, hospitalisation, and death, even for healthy children and adults.”

This could be reduced with higher vaccination rates, she said.

“We urge families to prioritise vaccination as a proactive step to protect their children, prevent the wider spread of the virus, and ultimately, help protect all Australians,” she told NewsWire.

Monash University associate professor James Trauer said the vaccine was the “most effective” way to prevent the flu from spreading. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Monash University Epidemiological Modelling Unit for the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine associate professor James Trauer reiterated it was important for Australians to get vaccinated against the flu.

He told NewsWire the flu vaccine presented “little chemicals to the immune system” that are in both the vaccine and flu virus, meaning the body is exposed to the chemicals without the body having to be exposed to the flu virus itself.

“So you develop antibodies … once you’ve got those antibodies, you have a more effective, more rapid response to the vaccine,” he said.

He said children under five and the population over 65 were the biggest priority for flu vaccinations, though the general public - particularly those with young children - should also get the jab.

“The flu transmits a lot within family units,” he said.

“(The) flu causes a major epidemic every winter, and people do die of it every year, and so it’s important for us to do everything that we can (to prevent it).”

While there are “some other treatments” to prevent the virus, he said “vaccination is really the best … preventive and effective intervention” that can “really help us to reduce the flu each winter”.

Originally published as ‘A mere virus’: Perth family’s heartbreaking plea after losing daughter, 2, to the flu