Flu kills 8 Hong Kong patients in one day, as infection rate hits 5-year high
Eight more flu patients died on Tuesday, pushing the number of victims to 59 so far this year - with a warning that the virus could last well into April and claim more than 200 lives.
Eight more flu patients died yesterday, pushing the number of victims to 59 so far this year - with a warning that the virus could last well into April and claim more than 200 lives. Patients in intensive care last night included a two-year-old girl whose condition was described as serious.
The grim forecast came from the Hospital Authority's chief infection control officer Dr Dominic Tsang Ngai-chong who said he expected the winter flu peak to last six to 12 more weeks. He also predicted that the infection rate would not be at its worst for another three weeks.
The third week of the year alone claimed 31 lives, the highest weekly death toll from flu in five years.
"We've observed that the winter flu season is starting a few weeks earlier this year," Tsang said yesterday, adding that hospitals had tightened their infection control measures.
With the epidemic adding a huge burden to public hospitals, staff were trying their best to group flu patients in the same medical wards but facilities were limited, he said.
