His parents, from Devon, who have asked not to be named, spoke of their heartache at losing their only child who they described as a gifted mathematician.
His mother said: “It’s like being in a bad dream. It doesn’t feel real. It’s such a shock.
“He would have been 10 in two months’ time. He never gets ill. He probably gets poorly once a year if that. “We want people to be aware of what happened to our son and to know the symptoms to look out for.”
She said after her son had felt sleepy and achy he was taken to the A&E department at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital where he was given painkillers.
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But his condition deteriorated and he died on Wednesday, with his parents at his bedside. His mother added: “He was just such a lovely lad. He was absolutely perfect.
“I wouldn’t have changed anything about him, not even when he was in a bad mood.”
And his father said: “We always had little adventures. He was always doing pranks and trying to scare people.” Britain has seen a significantly above-average number of patients turning up at GP surgeries with “flu-like” symptoms this winter.
Doctors are reporting a 150 per cent rise in cases, equating to 31,300 patients, since the start of the year, according to the Royal College of GPs.
The most virulent flu strain, influenza B, includes the H3N2 or Aussie flu virus, which was thought to have killed Bethany Walker, 18, of Applecross in Scotland earlier this month. Medical experts have said this seasons’s outbreak is the worst since 2010-11.
