Macau has recorded this year's first flu death, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced yesterday.
An SSM statement said the 83-year-old male patient died of influenza on Thursday.
According to the bureau, the local resident had been afflicted by a host of chronic diseases such as hypertension. He came down with fever and vomiting last Sunday. The following day he tested positive for the Influenza A virus (IAV) at the emergency department of the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre and was prescribed Tamiflu. Due to his deteriorating condition he was admitted on Tuesday to the public hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and a bacterial infection. He passed away on Thursday.
The bureau pointed out that the patient had not received the 2021-22 seasonal flu shot.
Two other men who shared a room with him in a retirement home have meanwhile also been diagnosed with the Influenza A virus.
The bureau said that it has confirmed 10 serious cases of influenza involving pneumonia since the beginning of this year, including the only fatality so far.
Structure of the influenza A virus (IAV). - Image courtesy of Hi Eun Jung and Heung Kyu Lee/Wikipedia
