A 79-year-old local man inflicted with chronic diseases died of influenza on Friday, the Health Bureau (SSM) has announced.
According to an SSM statement on Friday, the patient came down with a fever, cough and runny nose last Monday, after which he sought treatment at a private medical institution, which the statement did not identify.
As his symptoms worsened, the statement said, the man was taken to the private Kiang Hospital on Thursday where he tested positive for the influenza A virus and was diagnosed with pneumonia in his left lung. He was transferred to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre later that day when he was in a critical condition, before he died the next day, the statement said.
The statement said that the man had not received a seasonal influenza jab.
The statement also announced that as of Friday Macau had recorded 63 serious or critical cases of influenza complicated with pneumonia so far this year, including four fatalities. The 63 patients, aged between 2 and 99, comprised 32 males and 31 females, only 23 of whom had been vaccinated against influenza.
In addition, the statement also said that Macau’s positive rate of influenza virus detection, i.e., the percentage of patients with respiratory symptoms testing positive for the influenza virus, had increased to 14.9 percent at the middle of this month from 9.5 percent at the same period of last month.
The latest positive rate of influenza virus detection has increased above the baseline level, indicating that the city is currently affected by a high intensity of influenza virus activity, the statement said.
According to the statement, the influenza virus detected at the middle of this month comprised influenza A H1 (83.9%), influenza A H3 (8.1%), influenza B (6.4%), and influenza A (untyped) (1.6%).
The statement also said that the other non-influenza patients with respiratory symptoms were infected with enterovirus, rhinovirus, or adenovirus.
6-year-old girl critical with flu B
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau also announced a critical case of influenza on Thursday, a six-year-old local girl.
According to Thursday’s SSM statement, the girl came down with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection on April 19, after which she was taken to a clinic for treatment where she tested positive for the influenza B virus and was prescribed antiviral drugs.
However, the statement said, the girl came down with chest pain and dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing) last Monday, after which she was taken to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre the next day where she was hospitalised and diagnosed with pneumonia.
The girl was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) on Wednesday last week when her symptoms worsened. She was in a critical condition at the time of Thursday’s statement.
The statement said that the girl had received a seasonal influenza jab.
This poster downloaded from the website of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) yesterday explains the prevention of seasonal influenza.
