'Summer flu season to last longer than last year's'

RTHK - Oct 22, 2026

Hong Kong is experiencing a prolonged summer flu season that shows no clear sign of abating, Centre for Health Protection controller Edwin Tsui said on Thursday. He said the flu season has already entered its 16th week. "We roughly ended last year's flu season around week 18," Tsui said on an RTHK radio programme. "Today, we are already nearly 16 weeks into the flu season and still see no clear downward trend, so I expect this year's summer flu season will be longer than last year's." Tsui said the prolonged season is linked to a shift in dominant virus strains, with influenza A H3 viruses dominating from the end of June before being replaced by H1 viruses in August. The latest figures show 25 children have been hospitalised in intensive care or died this year from severe flu, with more than 80 percent either unvaccinated or having chronic illnesses. Two children have died including a 12-year-old girl who passed away on Tuesday. Among adults, 841 have been admitted to intensive care or died – a sharp rise from 490 in 2025. Tsui said the proportion of respiratory samples testing positive for flu over the past month ranged from 10 to 12 percent – nearly double...

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