The Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement last night that two more critical cases of influenza were reported yesterday, a 38-year-old woman and a 57-year-old local man, with the latter suffering from chronic diseases.
According to last night’s statement, the 38-year-old local woman came down with a fever and cough last Sunday and sought treatment at a private medical institution where she was diagnosed with Influenza B virus.
On Monday, she was admitted to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre after suffering from shortness of breath, the statement said, adding that a chest X-ray at the public hospital showed that she was suffering from Influenza B combined with pneumonia, because of which she was taken to undergo treatment in its intensive care unit (ICU) yesterday.
The second case is a 57-year-old local man with a history of chronic illness, who developed a fever, cough and difficulty breathing on Monday evening. He was immediately taken to the private Kiang Wu Hospital for treatment and was diagnosed with Influenza A combined with pneumonia.
The statement last night said that both patients were in a critical condition and on ventilators yesterday, adding that neither had received the seasonal influenza jab for this year, while their family members, as of yesterday, had not come down with any flu symptoms.
Meanwhile, last night’s statement also announced that two flu-like cluster cases were reported yesterday, involving a total of 12 schoolchildren.
According to the bureau, the influenza virus in Macau is now active, exceeding the alert level and has entered its peak. Residents are urged to pay more attention to the threat, the statement said, adding that residents who have not received the influenza vaccine, especially pregnant women, young children, the elderly and the chronically ill, are more prone to serious complications or even death after being infected with the influenza virus and should get their flu jab as soon as possible.
Image courtesy of Dr Mikael Häggström/Wikimedia Commons
