Alert issued on respiratory viral infections

June 08, 2011

The Department of Health's Public Health Laboratory Centre has recently detected increases in adenoviruses and parainfluenza viruses, indicating an increase in the activity of respiratory pathogens in recent weeks.
 
The number of adenoviruses detected in the laboratory centre went up from 70 in the week ending May 28, to 99 in the week ending June 4.
 
Four institutional outbreaks of upper respiratory infections caused by adenovirus were recorded in the week ending June 4, compared with one outbreak recorded in the preceding two weeks. A total of 44 people were affected in these five institutional outbreaks.
 
The number of parainfluenza viruses detected in the laboratory centre has also been increasing, from 233 from April 10 to May 7, to 316 from May 8 to June 4.
 
A total of three institutional outbreaks of upper respiratory infections caused by parainfluenza virus were recorded in the past eight weeks, affecting 11 people.
 
The Centre for Health Protection said it will closely monitor the activity of respiratory pathogens in the coming weeks. It will send letters to childcare centres, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and institutions, alerting them to the rising number of respiratory viral infections.