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: Avian Influenza A(H5N1) U.S. Situation Update and CDC Activities 5 days ago
- USCDC: Urgent field correction notice 5 days ago
- Joint FAO/WHO/WOAH preliminary assessment of recent influenza A(H5N1) viruses 6 days ago
- Primers and probes for H5 and N1 qRT-PCR detection [CNIC] 7 days ago
- USDA: Actions to Protect Livestock Health From Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza 8 days ago
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