Preteen girl showed no symptoms days before death from flu

A US family are mourning the loss of their daughter, who died suddenly on February 10 after coming down with the flu.

Sable Gibson, 10, had been out with a friend just days before falling ill. In footage recording by the young friends, the Ohio girl could be seen dancing and singing with no obvious signs of illness.

However, days later she passed away at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Scott and Holly Gibson, Sable's parents, told USA Today: "She was making videos one day, and the next day she's dead."

The day after she and her friend recorded the video, Sable fell ill and began complaining of flu-like symptoms.

Her mother took her to a clinic the following day, where Sable was prescribed ibuprofen, then directly to the family paediatrician the following day when her condition hadn't improved.

Sable later came down with an intense fever. Holly remained by her daughter’s side until she suddenly went cold, at which point she began performing CPR.

One of Sable’s five siblings later took over resuscitation efforts as the family waited for emergency services to arrive. They rushed the little girl to a nearby satellite campus of Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Her condition was critical and Sable was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre, however the cardiac arrest had deprived her brain of oxygen and she died.

The 10-year-old had rarely been sick growing up, visiting her paediatrician only a few times for ear infections, so her sudden illness was a shock to the Gibson family.

Few parents view the flu as a life-threatening illness, but an average of 113 children have died from the disease in the last four flu seasons in the US, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 80 per cent of these cases were children who hadn't received the flu vaccination, however the Gibson family chose not to disclose whether Sable had been vaccinated against influenza.

Though the vaccine doesn't guarantee a child will not contract the illness, it greatly reduces the risk of becoming ill and lessens the severity of the illness is contracted.

The Gibson family has since seen an outpouring of support from their local community and online.

Almost $35,000 has been raised in Sable’s name, which will be donated to Joshua's Place, a local charity that provides meals to low income families.

"We knew our daughter loved to help people," Holly said.

"This will continue to help people for, hopefully, years."