1-year-old girl admitted to ICU with severe flu: Macau Health Bureau (SSM)

The Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday that a one-year-old girl was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Kiang Wu Hospital on Tuesday with severe influenza.

According to the statement, the girl, with no pre-existing congenital conditions, had various symptoms including fever and cough and was taken to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre (CHCSJ) for medical attention on Monday, where she was diagnosed with influenza A and treated with Tamiflu and other medications.

On Tuesday afternoon, her family noticed that she was breathing rapidly and her level of consciousness had deteriorated, the statement said, adding that she was immediately taken to Kiang Wu Hospital and admitted for treatment.

The statement noted that the girl was diagnosed with influenza A complicated by meningoencephalitis* and septic shock**, requiring ventilator support.

According to the statement, the girl has been transferred to Kiang Wu’s intensive care unit for monitoring, and her condition was critical at the time the statement was issued yesterday afternoon. 

During the incubation period, the statement said, the girl had travelled to the Chinese mainland, adding that she had not received the seasonal influenza vaccine for this year. 

Her household contacts had previously experienced fever and sought medical attention, the statement said. 

* Meningoencephalitis is a serious medical condition characterised by simultaneous inflammation of both the meninges (the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord) and the encephalon (the brain tissue itself). – Gemini 

** Septic shock is a life-threatening, critical medical emergency. It is the most severe stage of sepsis –the body’s extreme, dysregulated immune response to an infection. – Gemini 

This poster from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the most common flu symptoms.