HK records second fatal pediatric influenza case this year

An 11-month-old boy succumbed to severe influenza A on Thursday after battling pneumonia in intensive care for over two weeks, marking the city’s second pediatric flu fatality this year and prompting fresh warnings for parents to vaccinate young children without delay.

According to the Department of Health, the boy had been admitted to Kwong Wah Hospital for an underlying illness.

He was transferred to the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit after developing a fever and cough on October 27.

His nasopharyngeal swab specimen tested positive for the influenza A virus, while the clinical diagnosis was influenza A infection complicated by severe pneumonia.

The patient had no recent travel history and had not received the 2025/26 seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV).

One of his household contacts recently developed respiratory symptoms but has since recovered.

The Controller of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, noted that since September, nine severe cases of influenza in children have been recorded.

Only one of these children had received the current seasonal influenza vaccine before the onset of illness.

He urged parents to arrange seasonal influenza vaccination for their children as soon as possible and called on all sectors of society to join hands in educating parents on the importance of vaccination.

This effort aims to promote greater vaccine uptake among young children, increase coverage rates, and strengthen protection for the pediatric population.

Tsui pointed out that influenza activity began to decline in the last week of October but remains at a relatively high level.

As the weather turns cooler, he did not rule out the possibility of fluctuations in influenza activity or the emergence of a winter influenza season early next year.

He emphasized that although a genetically mutated influenza A (H3N2) virus strain has recently emerged in Hong Kong and other regions, the current seasonal influenza vaccine remains effective against this antigenically drifted strain, as well as other influenza A and B viruses.