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The Centre for Health Protection has urged people to take precautionary measures against seasonal influenza, noting there is a steady rise in the number of flu isolates signalling the winter flu season's arrival.
The centre's Emergency Response & Information Branch Head Dr Thomas Chung said today 105 influenza detections were recorded January 18 to 24, up on the 69 detections from January 12 to 17.
Genetic and antigenic analysis showed most were an H1N1 A/Brisbane/59/2007-like virus, while some were an H3N2 A/Brisbane/10/2007-like virus. Both have been circulating in the community since early this year and no mutations have been detected.
The centre also received 10 flu-like-illness institutional outbreaks affecting 59 people in the same week.
The consultation rates for flu-like-illness in doctors' and general out-patients' clinics in the week ending January 24 stood at 27.7 and 4.9 per 1,000 consultations as compared with 38.5 and 5.2 for the previous week.
Situation monitored
Dr Chung said the centre has been closely monitoring flu activity as traditionally the local winter flu season arrives January to March.
"The Government will continue to step up the surveillance system and public education and publicity programmes, and organise talks on the prevention of influenza," he said, adding letters will be sent to doctors, schools and institutions alerting them the latest situation.
Since the November launch of the flu vaccination programme and flu vaccination subsidy scheme, about 270,000 and 80,000 doses of flu vaccines have been administered to eligible target groups. The schemes will run until March 31.
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