Gov’t closely monitoring post-holiday flu conditions

The trajectory of influenza infections is being closely monitored in case of a relapse after the Easter break, a medical director of the public hospital has recently said.

Commenting on the current outbreak of flu, emergency room doctor and medical director at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital, Lei Wai Seng, told the press that, as per past experience, a flu outbreak usually lasts for a month.

This current outbreak, he said, was initially detected in the Accident and Emergency Department in early April. Most patients who sought medical assistance at the department were children. The case figures peaked at 1,050 patients per day, 60% more than on a normal day.

During the Easter break, the figure remained steady at circa 900 patients per day.

Chan Man Si, an official from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that a rise in flu infections was observed from the ninth week of this year, with 110 cases of chain infections recorded during the 13th.

Explaining the intense flu outbreak this year, Lei said that there were no outbreaks in previous years, weakening the response from people’s immune system to flu viruses. Based on that, he said that the Health Bureau had expected this year’s flu outbreaks would be more severe, adding that the eased mask recommendations had also facilitated the quicker spread of flu.

Lei revealed that the number of elderly flu patients hospitalized has increased, due to the fact that they are more prone to medical complications, such as bacterial infections and pneumonia, following the contraction of flu viruses.

In a previous severe flu case concerning a six-year-old girl, Lei revealed that the girl has been moved from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to a normal ward, following improvement in her condition. She suffered from inflammation in the brain after contracting the flu.

An elderly patient with severe chronic diseases were admitted to the ICU and is on a respirator.

The doctor reiterated the recommendation for people to receive their flu vaccines.