UK Inquest Examines Death of 5-Year-Old Boy One Day After Flu Diagnosis and Hospital Discharge
Five-year-old Jax Jefferys died the evening after doctors at Queen Alexandra Hospital sent him home with a flu diagnosis and steroid prescription.
New York PostJax Jefferys, a 5-year-old boy from the UK, died the evening after doctors discharged him from Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth with a flu diagnosis. He had arrived at the hospital coughing and drowsy. Within a couple of days he developed a fever and red rash on his head, face, neck and back.
Doctors diagnosed flu after a blood test came back positive for the virus and clear of other infections, then sent him home with a steroid prescription and instructions to return if further tests showed anything else. Charlene McCormack, Jax’s mother, told the Winchester Coroner’s Court that staff said there was nothing they could do beyond paracetamol and rest.
She said Jax had no sore throat or pus in his throat.
A nurse told McCormack the rash could be a heat rash caused by his temperature but would be passed to the doctor. The next evening Jax told his mother he could not feel his legs. On the drive back to the hospital he began to bleed and became lifeless.
Streptococcus A infections occur when one of the 120 strains of group A Streptococcus bacteria enters the body through the skin or throat. Red rashes on the head, face, neck and back are among the signs of such an infection. The inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court continues.
