An 86-year-old local man died of Type A influenza associated with pneumonia on Monday – the first flu death confirmed in Macau this year, the Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement Tuesday.
The chronically ill victim started to have respiratory infection symptoms on December 26 and took some traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remedies on the mainland, but his condition failed to improve, the statement said.
On Friday, the man felt short of breath and went to the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre for emergency treatment and remained hospitalised, the statement said. The patient was then diagnosed with pneumonia.
On Sunday, the victim began to suffer from respiratory failure and was put on a ventilator, the statement said. On Monday morning, the patient was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU), where his condition further worsened, suffering from shock and multiple organ failure he died later that day, the statement said.
The patient’s respiratory tract samples confirmed that the victim suffered from influenza A, the statement said. The three family members who lived with the victim do not have similar symptoms, the statement.
According to the statement, the victim had his 2018-2019 seasonal flu vaccination in October last year.
Macau has so far recorded 14 cases of serious influenza associated with pneumonia or other serious complications since September last year, yesterday’s statement said.
Among the 14 patients, two are still in hospital – an 86-year-old man (not the fatality) and a four-year-old boy (whose critical condition was revealed during a press conference by the bureau on Monday), tuesday’s statement said, adding that the former is in stable condition while the latter is still in a critical condition. Neither had had flu shots before being infected with the influenza virus, the statement said.
The bureau announced during a press conference on Monday that the four-year-old boy is in critical condition due to Type A influenza associated with encephalitis.
