A 14-year-old girl with an underlying illness remains seriously ill in the paediatric intensive care unit at United Christian Hospital after developing influenza A, severe pneumonia and septic shock. She was transferred to intensive care after her condition worsened following admission.
She initially developed a fever, runny nose and cough before seeking treatment at the hospital’s emergency department. The initial investigation found that she had not travelled abroad during the infection’s incubation period.
The reports said she was diagnosed with influenza A complicated by severe pneumonia and septic shock. One report specified that testing detected influenza A(H1).
Two household contacts also tested positive for influenza A, but both had mild symptoms and did not require hospitalisation.
The Centre for Health Protection urged people to receive seasonal influenza vaccination promptly. The city’s seasonal influenza vaccination programme is scheduled to begin on September 17.
One report said that 13 severe paediatric influenza cases, including one death, had been recorded from June up to the time of publication. The girl’s latest reported condition remained serious, with no further clinical details provided.