Hong Kong Prepares for Flu “Peak Season”

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Hong Kong, 24 January: The Hong Kong Department of Health said here Tuesday [24 January] that the peak season of influenza is expected to arrive in Hong Kong within a few weeks, advising high risk people to go for vaccination.

Reviewing the infectious disease situation in Hong Kong last year, the consultant doctor of the Centre for Health protection (CHP) of the Department of Health Thomas Tsang said that the peak season of influenza was about to arrive in Hong Kong.

“According to historical trend, the peak season for influenza is expected to come in February or March. People at high risk, such as elderly people or people with chronic diseases who have not received influenza vaccinations should get vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.

He said more than 240,000 people had already been covered by the government’s influenza vaccination programme, representing an increase of about 20 per cent over 2004.

Regarding avian flu, Tsang said preventive measures under the Alert-level of the Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan have been put in place since January this year, and additional measures would be implemented in the event of importation of avian flu cases or efficient human-to-human transmission of the disease.

He said the CHP would continue to maintain close liaison with the World Health Organization and the mainland authority to obtain the latest information about the global and regional situation.

Reviewing other notable infectious diseases in 2005, Tsang said there were 13 local cases of Streptococcus suis infection reported to the CHP in 2005.

Given public concern over Streptococcus suis and to better understand the epidemiology of local cases, the CHP made Streptococcus suis a statutorily notifiable disease in August last year, making it the 31st notifiable infectious disease under the First Schedule to the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance.

Other infectious diseases which recorded high activity in 2005 included food poisoning, typhus and Legionnaires’ Disease.