A five-year-old boy with a chronic illness is being treated in the paediatric intensive care unit at Tuen Mun Hospital after testing positive for influenza A(H1) and developing severe pneumonia, the Centre for Health Protection said on Tuesday. His condition is stable.
The boy developed a fever and cough on September 6. The following day, he went to the accident and emergency department at Tin Shui Wai Hospital because of shortness of breath, and was later transferred to the paediatric ward at Tuen Mun Hospital.
His condition subsequently worsened and he was moved to the hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit. A respiratory sample tested positive for influenza A(H1), and doctors clinically diagnosed influenza A complicated by severe pneumonia.
The Centre for Health Protection’s preliminary investigation found that the boy had not travelled outside Hong Kong during the incubation period. A household contact had recently experienced mild upper respiratory symptoms but has since recovered. The information does not establish that the contact was the source of the boy’s infection.
Hong Kong entered its influenza season in late June, and 17 severe paediatric flu cases have been recorded since then, according to the Centre for Health Protection. Nine patients have recovered and been discharged, three are stable, two are in serious condition, two are critical and one has died.
The Centre for Health Protection said influenza transmission in the community had been widespread in recent months, with infections increasing. It expected flu activity to remain active at the start of the school term and urged the public to receive seasonal influenza vaccination.