19-year-old from South Carolina dies after catching the flu. She’s one of at least 84

Earlier this week, South Carolina’s flu outbreak claimed the lives of one of its youngest victims yet, according to a report from WYFF 4.

Sydney Hanks, a 19-year-old from Anderson, died on Jan. 30 after going into cardiac arrest at home, Anderson County Coronor Greg Shore told the television news station.

Hanks tested positive for Type A influenza and Shore confirmed that the flu contributed to her death, WSPA reported.

The coroner told WYFF 4 that Hanks was at a higher risk for flu complications because of “other health issues.”

She just graduated high school in 2017, according to her obituary.

At least 84 individuals in the state have died so far this flu season, including 14 in the Lowcountry. No children have died of the flu in South Carolina this season, according to the latest data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

An older adult at Hilton Head Hospital and a 42-year-old from woman from St. Stephen both died from the flu last week.

Last year, a total of 94 individuals died throughout the entire flu season, according to DHEC data.

During the fourth week of January, more than 500 cases of the flu were confirmed in Beaufort County—more than double the number of cases confirmed the previous week.

Two private schools in Beaufort County shut down within the last week due to the high amounts of students confirmed with the flu. Beaufort County School District has seen triple the number of flu cases confirmed so far this year than during all of last year’s flu season.

And according to health officials, the outbreak is nowhere near over.

For more information about this year’s Lowcountry flu season and what you need to know about it, click here.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 3:03 PM with the headline "19-year-old from South Carolina dies after catching the flu. She’s one of at least 84."