A leading Hong Kong medical expert has urged parents not to delay seeking diagnosis and treatment for children with flu symptoms, following a spate of severe cases complicated by other viral and bacterial infections.
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Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, an honorary associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, warned on Sunday that concurrent viral and bacterial infections could produce complications such as encephalopathy, a condition that can lead to brain damage.
“If it’s just a flu infection, the condition tends to be milder. But if the flu combines with other viruses such as Covid-19 and adenovirus, or in some cases bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus, cases can become more severe,” Kwan told a radio programme.
He also urged families to ensure their children were vaccinated.
The city recorded three cases of children with severe flu in the past week. Two of them were unvaccinated and developed encephalopathy, a condition that can deteriorate rapidly within 24 hours.
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Kwan said doctors might need to put such patients in an intensive care unit and treat them with high doses of steroids and immunoglobulins, adding that a full recovery was not guaranteed and some cases could result in permanent brain damage.