CHP says new flu season has started

The Centre for Health Protection said on Thursday a new flu season has begun in Hong Kong, with the H3 subtype of influenza A being the dominant strain.

Albert Au, head of the communicable disease branch at the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), said seasonal flu activity has been on the rise over the past few weeks.

He said it's hard to estimate how long the flu season would last.

“We have noticed that around 60 percent of flu cases were caused by the H3 virus," Au said.

"The current H3 strain is similar to the one that was prevalent between September and December last year, so the vaccine is still effective.

“But we have also seen the H1 strain and influenza B virus spreading, so we will continue to monitor the situation and see how long the flu season will last.

“In the past, summer flu seasons usually lasted for eight to 12 weeks, so we expect influenza activity to still remain at a high level in August and September.”

Au said the expected surge in flu activity could lead to increases in hospital admissions, outbreaks at schools and care homes, as well as serious cases.

He also said the CHP has recorded a rise in Covid-19 cases since May.

Au added that an upsurge period of Covid-19 activity would occur every six to nine months in Hong Kong, and that last happened nearly a year ago.

Edited by Edmond Fong ...