The flu season in Macao is hitting its peak, with the number of cases – especially those involving the H1N1 virus – expected to surge over the next several weeks. That’s according to the head of Macao’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Leong Lek Hou, who was speaking to multiple media outlets yesterday.
Figures show that since late last month, the number of daily cases has increased from an average of 800 or less to over 900, with the current high reaching roughly 1,000.
Leong noted that a fresh peak can be expected during the period “before and after the Chinese New Year, between mid-January and mid-February.” She pointed out, however, that residents should not let their guards down after this timeframe, as the most severe flu cases tend to hit following a peak of influenza activity.
[See more: Macao now has 32 imported cases of dengue fever]
Data cited by the CDC chief also showed that the number of flu cases requiring medical attention rose last week by 39 percent for adults, compared to the previous 7-day period, while the frequency of such cases involving children jumped by 23 percent.
Residents, particularly those over 50, are being urged to get their flu jabs. The chief of the Health Bureau’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division, Chan Choi Wan, noted that around 162,000 people had received a jab for this season’s vaccine – an increase of 4. 2 percent year-on-year.
Between October and December of last year, the Health Bureau conducted group vaccinations at kindergartens and primary schools, rehabilitation centres and elderly care homes, with the vaccination rate at those places reaching around 80 percent, 90 percent and 50 percent respectively.
