Description of the situation
05 January 1998
Disease Outbreak Reported
Laboratory investigations of suspected cases are progressing and there are now 16 confirmed cases of human influenza A(H5N1), four of which were fatal. A few cases could be removed from the list of suspected cases after confirmation of influenza A(H3N2) virus infection, while four cases remain under investigation. Surveillance is maintained on alert for any new cases of influenza A(H5N1) among the human population but it is evident that this surveillance will also detect cases due to the common human influenza viruses which are circulating in Hong Kong as indicated by the recent isolations of influenza A(H3N2) from suspected cases.