Health officials expect peak winter flu season to hit Hong Kong next week as infections show upwards trend
- Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan urges public to get vaccinated against flu, coronavirus to maximise protection against respiratory illnesses
- ‘Based on the latest surveillance data, we soon, probably next week, may enter the flu surge period,’ she says
Hong Kong is expected to enter the peak winter flu season next week at a time when Covid-19 infections are rising, health officials have warned.
The officials called on the public, especially members of high-risk groups, on Thursday to get flu and coronavirus shots to avoid serious conditions.
“Based on the latest surveillance data, we soon, probably next week, may enter the flu surge period,” Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said during a press conference.
The prediction was based on two key indicators, according to Chuang. The first was the hospital admission rate of patients with a principal flu diagnosis, which had already exceeded the threshold signalling the start of a peak season.
The second key indicator was the percentage of respiratory specimens handled by public laboratories, which was also approaching the threshold.
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“If both [indicators] are above the threshold, it means we have entered the flu surge period,” Chuang said.
Currently, influenza A subtype H3 is the most prevalent type of flu virus in the city, taking up about 80 per cent of infections. It is followed by influenza B and flu A subtype H1.
Chuang said that serious flu cases had also been slightly increasing, with official data showing 23 were registered last week, up from 14 in the week before.
Health authorities noted the city was also recording more Covid-19 infections.
“The overall active level of Covid-19 has also significantly increased,” Chuang said, stressing the viral load in sewage samples and the number of infection cases had risen.
The viral load found in sewage samples surged by about 40 per cent between the December 24 to 30 period, compared with the week before.
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But serious and fatal Covid-19 cases had not significantly increased, she said.
Officials expected JN. 1, which the World Health Organization (WHO) listed as a “variant of interest”, could replace XBB to become the dominant Covid-19 strain in the city.
“This variant has a growth advantage over other existing variants,” Chuang said, adding a significant increase in the proportion of this strain out of all coronavirus infections overseas had been recorded within a short period of time.
She said a similar phenomenon had also been observed in Hong Kong, adding that 60 per cent of patients’ specimens and 26 per cent of sewage samples had the emerging variant.
“The WHO said no evidence showing JN.1 could bring extra public health risks globally, compared with other circulating strains such as XBB,” she said, noting that the vaccine targeting XBB could also offer cross-protection against JN.1.
A four year-old boy was admitted to an intensive care unit with severe pneumonia after he returned from Australia, the centre revealed on Wednesday. He tested positive for Covid-19 on January 1. Officials on Thursday said the boy’s condition had stablisied after he received treatment.
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A 20-month-old baby with croup disease was also admitted to the intensive care unit and his condition had also stabilised.
The Hospital Authority said the North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre that was used to isolate Covid-19 patients during the pandemic was on standby.
It added it would focus on streamlining patient handling procedures to cope with the expected surge before relying on the facility.
The inpatient bed occupancy rate at acute care hospitals stood at 116 per cent as of January 3, while that at paediatric departments was 92 per cent in the same period.
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The city’s government has procured 200,000 doses of XBB vaccine, with priority vaccination given to the high-risk groups.
Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, head of the centre’s emergency response and programme management branch, said that about 20,000 doses had been administered since mid-December when the vaccine was made available.
But he said the overall Covid vaccination rates among young and old people remained low. Only 30 per cent of children aged six months to three years had received the vaccine, while a fourth of elderly people aged over 80 had taken four or more doses.
Flu vaccination coverage rates among residents aged between six months and 18 years, as well as among those aged 65 or over, had risen by 39 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, compared with last year’s figures, Au said. But about half of these age groups’ members remained unvaccinated, he warned.
