Hong Kong:on Guard for an Outbreak of Flu
submited by kickingbird at Jan, 4, 2005 7:55 AM from South China Morning Post
As Hong Kong enters the peak of its annual flu season, health officials are warning the remaining 25 percent of at-risk residents who are eligible for free flu shots under the government´s vaccination program to be immunized against the disease. According to recent reports, the rate at which people are seeking treatment for flu-related conditions at Hong Kong public clinics was 3.4 per 1,000 consultations in November, up from 3.1 per 1,000 at the same time in the previous year. The Hong Kong Department of Health reports that about 150,000 of the 200,000 people who are eligible for a free vaccination against the flu have received one so far this season. Choi Kin-wing, a professor in the department of medicine and therapeutics at Chinese University, says doctors are concerned that an outbreak of human influenza in Asia could lead to "gene assortment mixing and mutating of genes between human flu strains and those from birds." He suggests that the government continue to isolate humans from birds that may be infected with avian influenza and to provide vaccinations to people who work with poultry.
See Also:
- USCDC: confirms H5N1 Bird Flu Infection in a Child in California 3 hours ago
- GISAID: H5N1 Bird Flu continues to take its toll in the United States, also affecting British Columbia in Canada 1 days ago
- USCDC: A(H5N1) Bird Flu Response Update November 18, 2024 4 days ago
- US: Avian influenza confirmed in backyard flock of birds in Hawaii 6 days ago
- GISAID: H5N1 Bird Flu Circulating in Dairy Cows and Poultry in the United States 7 days ago
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