A four-year-old girl suffering from flu was in a serious condition on Thursday night, March 15, 2018, as the number of schools reporting flu outbreaks surged throughout Hong Kong.
The girl, who previously had a good health record, tested positive for influenza A, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection said.
The four-year-old had not been vaccinated against flu, and had a fever, a cough and a runny nose since Tuesday. She went into convulsions on Thursday before being admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan.
Amidst the crisis, in the week ending March 10, a number of 44 flu outbreaks at kindergartens and primary schools has also been recorded. Furthermore, the result was three times more than the 13 of the previous week, the center said in its latest flu surveillance report.
Recently, a kindergarten in Tsing Yi reported an influenza B outbreak on Thursday, affecting 20 students.
"To prevent outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory infections, it is of prime importance that children with fever, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms, should not be allowed to attend school," its spokesman said.
"They should seek medical advice and avoid school until 48 hours after the fever has subsided. Schools should also measure and record students' body temperature properly."
So far during the current winter peak flu season, 20 children have suffered serious flu-related complications. Two of them died.
Of the 20, 19 had not had the flu vaccine for this year.
Meanwhile, there were 517 adult cases reported to be serious cases and 341 of those patients had died by March 14.
If outbreaks in secondary schools and residential care homes for the elderly and disabled are added to kindergartens and primary schools, there were 54 outbreaks affecting 255 people in the week ending March 10, up from 19 outbreaks in the previous week.
Meat and egg imports suspended
As of this Friday, Hong Kong has suspended poultry meat and egg imports from parts of the United States, Mexico and France following new outbreaks of avian influenza.
In addition, some of the possible causes for the outbreak make lead to Mexico, as it was previously reported that there has been 2 cases of high pathogenic H7N3 avian influenza in the central part of the country. Mexican officials reported to the OIE that the virus killed 1,380 of 1,900 Rhode Island Red chickens in the state of Guanajuato. The remaining birds were culled.
A second outbreak was detected among a backyard flock in the neighboring state of Queretaro, which led to 26 birds being culled. Mexico reported an outbreak of H7N3 last year.
