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Flu fight recalls dark days of Sars

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Health authorities announced a string of contingency measures yesterday to combat flu that recalled action taken during the Sars emergency five years ago.

The measures, including shortened visiting hours in public hospitals, daily announcements of outbreaks and a public-education campaign, came five days after the death of a three-year-old girl in Tuen Mun.

Controller of the Centre for Health Protection Thomas Tsang Ho-fai announced the measures in the midst of the peak season because of 'general community concerns'.

He said there was no evidence at this stage that the flu season was any worse than in the past two years, but the situation could change.

Post-mortem examination results showed that Ho Po-yi, who died in Tuen Mun Hospital on Saturday, had suffered from Brisbane H3N2 flu, a mutated form of an older substrain for which many have poor immunity.

Po-yi died just hours after she had been sent home from the hospital's emergency room and less than 24 hours after she developed a fever and cough. Her six-year-old sister, who was also diagnosed with Brisbane flu, was discharged from the same hospital yesterday after five days of treatment.

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