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Amy Nip

A five-year-old boy died yesterday after catching flu, the first casualty of this year's influenza season. 
The boy was a pupil of the Spastics Association of Hong Kong Shek Kip Mei Pre-school Centre.  
Despite having received a flu vaccination shot last July, he developed a fever and cough last Thursday.
He was admitted to Yan Chai Hospital  yesterday and  died in the afternoon. The boy had a history of spinal muscular atrophy, a chronic neuromuscular disorder.  
Twelve students and three staff members of the school had developed symptoms of influenza-like illness since February 25,  the centre said.  Classes were suspended for a week, from Tuesday, for disinfection.  Former Medical Association president Choi Kin  said the boy would have been more prone to complications from influenza because of his age and chronic disease.
It was too early for the boy to get the vaccine shot in July,  Dr Choi said,  referring to the Health Department's advice that it would be more appropriate to get vaccinated last November, so  the shot would be effective during March and April.
The preschool  was only closed six days after the first influenza-like case, and  Dr Choi regarded it 'a little bit late'. 
'Maybe they couldn't move ... if it is possible, an institution should be evacuated immediately if there  is an outbreak,' he said.
A total of eight infants, including five primary school students, died from influenza complications last year. In March last year,  health authorities ordered all primary schools and kindergartens to suspend classes for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Centre  for Health Protection was investigating this year's first  laboratory-confirmed case of  Streptococcus suis,   a common infection  in pigs.
A 56-year-old woman who had handled raw pork when preparing food at home was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on Monday. She was still in hospital in a stable condition. The bacteria  can infect humans through cuts on their skin.
Complications from the infection can cause death.



Five-year-old boy dies from flu despite having been vaccinated