The SUN HK : Gov’t renews warning against seasonal flu amid rising death toll

Graphic from CHP

If you have fever, cough or colds, there is one chance in 10 that you will go down with seasonal flu.

Dr Edwin Tsui, controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health, issued this warning in the wake of CHP's latest` surveillance data, indicating a rising number of deaths and serious cases.

As of February 12, the CHP recorded 301 severe or death cases among adult patients, about 70 per cent of whom have not received the seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) of this season, and about 70 per cent of them have chronic diseases.

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Among the 186 death cases, about 90 per cent were aged 65 or above.

In the week ending February 8, CHP found that 10.23 per cent of respiratory specimens have tested positive for seasonal influenza viruses.

The influenza admission rate in public hospitals is 0.67 cases per 10 000 population, indicating that the overall influenza activity remains at a high level, he added.

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"Hong Kong entered the influenza season in early January this year, and it is now the sixth week. The Influenza A (H1) virus is predominant this season, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the subtyped influenza virus detections. In terms of severe or death cases caused by influenza, this season, as in the past, mainly affects the elderly and young children," Dr Tsui said.

He urged everyone aged 6 months and above to get the vaccine immediately to protect their health and that of their family members.

"The number of severe or death cases recorded in the first five weeks of this season is higher than that of the same period last season, but similar to the 2018/19 influenza season, i.e. before the COVID-19 pandemic, which was also dominated by influenza A (H1). Based on historical data, the entire influenza season usually lasts for two to four months. Whether it will last for 28 weeks, as in the past influenza season, will depend on any change in the circulating strains of viruses, including any increase in the activities of influenza A (H3) and influenza B viruses," Dr Tsui said.

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\He pointed out that, according to the virus analysis conducted by the CHP, the strains of influenza viruses that are circulating in Hong Kong nowadays are similar to the strains of viruses in the seasonal influenza vaccine currently available in Hong Kong, which means that the vaccine is effective in lowering the risk of serious complications or death from the infection. Data analysis also showed that the rate of serious complications in residents of residential care homes for the elderly who did not receive SIV was 2.2 times that of vaccinated residents, highlighting the protective effect of SIV.

As of February 9, a total of about 1.9 million doses of vaccines were administered under various vaccination programs, an increase of about 8.4 per cent over the same period in the last SIV season and a record high, surpassing the total number of doses administered under various vaccination programs in the year 2023/24 (about 1.8 million doses).