The Health Bureau (SSM) has recorded one serious flu case and three collective flu cases recently, involving a 70-year-old local man, eight kids, and three elderly, according to an SSM statement yesterday.
According to the statement, the 70-year-old local man came down with a fever and cough on March 31, and developed dyspnoea (shortness of breath) on Friday. He was admitted to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre on Sunday as his symptoms became more serious.
His chest X-ray showed that he was suffering from pneumonia in his right lung, and he tested positive for Influenza A, the statement said, adding that his family members had developed similar symptoms last Wednesday, but they have already recovered.
The septuagenarian was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment for respiratory failure on Monday as he was in critical condition, requiring ventilator-assisted respiration, the statement said.
As for the three collective flu cases, all the patients were female, and five of them are from the Our Lady of Fátima Girls’ School, three are from a day nursery run by the Macau Women’s General Association (commonly known as Fu Luen), and three are from the Santa Margarida Home for the Elderly in Taipa.
The patients came down with upper respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough on Saturday, and some of them have been treated at medical institutions but without serious illness or other serious complications, the statement said.
Infection control measures such as cleansing, disinfection and indoor air circulation have been stepped up on the premises concerned, and the isolation of the sick has been strictly enforced, the statement said.
In order to prevent influenza or other viral respiratory diseases, the bureau urged residents to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza every year, as well as to follow a balanced diet and get enough sleep and exercise.
Residents should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene, such as washing hands frequently, covering their mouths and noses properly while sneezing or coughing, coughing into a tissue, putting the tissue into a covered dustbin, and afterwards washing hands immediately.
The bureau also urged residents to avoid going to crowded places, and people who have flu-like symptoms, or need to take care of a sick person, or need to go to a hospital or health centre should wear a facemask.
Image courtesy of Dr Mikael Häggström/Wikimedia Commons
