Hong Kong faces at least five-month summer flu season, CHP warns
Hong Kong's summer flu season is expected to last at least five months due to a shift in dominant virus strains. Health officials reported 25 severe pediatric cases since June and a 70 per cent increase in adult severe cases compared to last year.
Hong Kong residents will face a longer summer flu season of at least five months as dominant virus strains shift, health officials cautioned on Thursday.
The warning came as local flu activity remained elevated after peaking in early September, with 25 severe pediatric cases recorded since June. Center for Health Protection (CHP) controller Edwin Tsui Lok-kin said on a radio programme that the latest case was a 12-year-old girl who died after testing positive for influenza A(H1) complicated by septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and multi-organ failure.
Tsui stressed that flu viruses remain highly active and show no clear sign of cooling down for 16 weeks, warning of a prolonged flu season. He attributed the longer season to a shift from influenza A(H3), dominant in late June, to A(H1), which took over from early August and now accounts for nearly 95 per cent of all strains.
Although last year's flu season ended in week 18, Tsui said Hong Kong has previously seen seasons last as long as seven months because of strain changes. He anticipated this year's season spanning at least five months. However, he confirmed that the strain is no different from those elsewhere and does not cause more severe illness or resistance to antiviral drugs.
Turning to severe cases, he said pediatric cases held steady at 25, while adult cases needing intensive care or ending in death rose by more than 70 per cent from about 490 a year earlier to 841. He noted that most adult severe cases involved elderly people with chronic illnesses and that some were unvaccinated, adding that the rise stemmed from waning antibodies in adults vaccinated nine months to a year ago and from a flu season now four months long.
As for school outbreaks, he said nearly 460 reports affecting about 2,800 people have been recorded since schools reopened in September. Among the more than 800 outbreaks, over 500 are in schools, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the total. Despite slightly fewer school outbreaks than last year, Tsui warned the public not to let their guard down or dismiss flu as a mild illness.
The flu vaccination programme has administered over 900,000 doses since launching on 17 September, trailing last year's pace by about 10 per cent, he said. He added that vaccination rates have edged down across age groups, including a dip of about 5 per cent for kindergarten and child care centre children and primary school students and of about 1.8 per cent for community elderly, while rates for care home residents rose about 3 per cent. Tsui reiterated that flu can be fatal for the elderly, children and people with chronic diseases and urged residents to get a flu shot as soon as possible.