A 25-year-old local man has been diagnosed with critical influenza, the Health Bureau (SSM) has announced.
The case was announced in an SSM statement on Saturday, according to which the man had previously suffered from myocarditis, i.e., the inflammation of the heart muscle.
According to the statement, the man came down with a fever and cough on Tuesday last week. He sought treatment at the emergency department of the private Kiang Wu Hospital on Friday after suffering from heart palpitations and chest pains, the statement said.
According to the statement, the patient tested positive for the influenza A virus in his respiratory specimen. In addition, the statement said, a CT scan at Kiang Wu Hospital showed that he was suffering from double pneumonia, and a blood gas test indicated that he was suffering from respiratory failure, because of which he was diagnosed with influenza A complicated with critical pneumonia, respiratory failure and multiple organ system failure.
Multiple organ system failure is also known as multiple organ failure or multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).
Saturday’s statement said that the patient was undergoing treatment in Kiang Wu Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) where he was put on a ventilator due to his critical condition.
The statement said that the patient had not received a seasonal influenza jab.
Kiang Wu Hospital reported the man’s critical influenza case to the Health Bureau on Saturday, the statement said.
As of yesterday, no fatalities caused by influenza have been reported this year.
