More than 99 per cent of Hong Kong residents have low immunity against the new “super flu”, a team of researchers has found, as they urged the public to get vaccinated against the rapidly spreading strain.
Despite the low level of immunity among the city’s population, the team from the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) faculty of medicine on Tuesday assured residents that current vaccines were still as effective at preventing the spread of infection.
“These data serve as a clear alert for Hong Kong,” said Professor Kelvin To Kai-wang from the university’s department of microbiology.
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“With influenza A cases rising and new variants emerging, we must reinforce the message that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection.”
Cases of subclade K, a strain of the H3N2 Influenza A virus making headlines overseas as the “super flu”, have been increasing rapidly around the world since around August, according to Hong Kong’s Department of Health.
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The new strain has been attributed to large surges in influenza cases across the Northern Hemisphere, including in the UK, Canada and the United States.