A previously healthy 17-year-old boy was admitted to intensive care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after an influenza A infection was complicated by septic shock, according to an account from the Centre for Health Protection reported by Star Headline.
He developed fever, cough, chills, headache, muscle pain and fatigue on 11 September. The following day, he went to the hospital’s emergency department and was admitted to intensive care. A respiratory sample tested positive for influenza A, and doctors clinically diagnosed influenza A complicated by septic shock.
The patient was still in hospital on 14 September, but his condition had become more stable after treatment, Star Headline and i-CABLE News reported. The case was described as a severe paediatric influenza case.
i-CABLE News reported that Hong Kong had recorded 20 severe paediatric influenza cases since the flu season began in late June, including one death. The report did not identify the institution behind that cumulative figure.
The Centre for Health Protection urged the public to receive seasonal influenza vaccination promptly when the seasonal influenza vaccination programme begins on Thursday, 17 September. i-CABLE News also reported the Centre’s advice that parents should take a sick child to an emergency department immediately if the child’s condition worsens.