Five-year-old boy becomes second child fatality as winter flu season persists in Hong Kong
The kindergarten he attended in Fanling will close for a week to sanitise its premises, with the Centre for Health Protection stressing the importance of vaccinating children against the virus
A five-year-old boy became the second child to lose his life to flu in Hong Kong this year, with his kindergarten in Fanling announcing that it would suspend classes for a week to sanitise its premises.
Public hospitals in Hong Kong have been stretched to maximum capacity and are seeing bed occupancy rates of up to 123 per cent, resulting in patients having to wait hours for an available bed.
“The latest surveillance data showed that local influenza activity increased markedly to a high
level,” the Centre for Health Protection said in its weekly publication, the Flu Express.
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At 11pm on Wednesday, he was brought to the emergency unit of the private Union Hospital as he had been vomiting and had a fever.
He tested positive for influenza B, the predominant strain of the virus circulating in the city, and was admitted to hospital.
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Influenza B is dangerous to a large proportion of Hong Kong’s population who may have no antibodies against the virus, as it has been inactive for the past few years.
The boy died at about 6am on Thursday, prompting the kindergarten to announce that it would close for a week, starting from Friday. It also postponed an excursion planned for that day.
The centre said it would arrange for its premises to be disinfected during the closure. A spokesman for the centre said it was crucial for those aged six months or above to receive the flu vaccine and protect themselves from harmful complications.
