Hong Kong’s next flu season to quickly follow current one, but likely to be weaker: expert
- Professor Ivan Hung of University of Hong Kong says current H1 flu outbreak expected to last till June or July, before next wave hits a month or two later
- ‘But that wave will not be as serious as the previous wave, when many people have been infected or vaccinated with flu jabs,’ he adds
Hongkongers can expect only a short gap between the current flu season and the next one, but the coming wave is likely to be weaker, according to a leading infectious diseases expert.
Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, chair professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said on Saturday that the current flu season, which started in January, might last for another one to two months.
“The current [influenza A subtype] H1 outbreak might last till June or July before it drops. Then there might be a quieter time … before we might start to see more H3 cases in late July or August,” he told a radio programme.
“But that wave will not be as serious as the previous wave, when many people have been infected or vaccinated with flu jabs.”
Hung said that alongside a possible increase in H3 cases during the coming wave, the city could see a rise in flu B infections.
The academic also noted that while children and the elderly were generally more susceptible to flu, the current wave had resulted in more serious cases among youngsters than older residents.
