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A fourth child has died from influenza A (H1) in as many weeks.

The 6-year-old boy was admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital on Monday.

The boy was not vaccinated with the seasonal influenza vaccine.

#RIP

Great article from David Owens “Hong Kong needs a health model based on prevention and positivity, not fear and disease” hongkongfp.com/2024/05/01/hon…

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A 37-year-old man is in ICU after contracting B-virus from contact with monkeys in Kam Shan Country Park.

B-virus is a simplexvirus transmitted by macaques.

CHP says this is the first macaque-to-human B-virus case recorded in Hong Kong.

info.gov.hk/gia/general/20…

Excellent commentary, Tim

There's a maxim in medicine: When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras. That's useful to remember as we wait for more info on childhood illnesses in #China . This sounds more like the legacy of its zero Covid policy than a new disease threat. statnews.com/2023/11/23/sur…

The #Covid pandemic & our responses to it knocked many other respiratory bugs out of their normal seasonality. As we enter the 4th winter of the Age of Covid, it looks like they are heading back to their pre-pandemic patterns. statnews.com/2023/11/20/flu…

Happy to be in Hong Kong at a CONSISE revival meeting and #immunity2023 conference hosted by HKU Medicine.

Thanks Ben Cowling, Leo Poon, Malik Peiris for the invitation. Great to be back in Hong Kong after a few years.

#COVID #PandemicPreparedness #Science

Fantastic opening to our 3-day international conference this morning #immunity2023 with many excellent presentations including opening talks by Malik Peiris and Maria Van Kerkove

If only as a real time bit of history from inside the room, I think more people should read Dominic Cummings' witness statement - there is a lot in there (115 pages), that is ill served by just looking at the drama and beef.

A few random snippets. 1/

covid19.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/upl…

There was an institutional opposition to masks because of 'purist' scientists who wanted gold standard evidence.

OK. Look. I'm not a Dom fanboy. But several times I have asked in print why it wasn't the case that we reopened schools a week apart in the form of a cluster RCT. Here's the answer, of sorts.

(tagging him, as a fanboy Dominic Cummings )

A quick plug for the FluTracking survey run by HKU Public Health: a 10-second survey every Monday to gauge prevalence of flu-like illness. A very helpful data point—and the more participants, the better. Sign up link: flutracking.net/Join/HE

Purple sky in the distance tonight, looking south from Kowloon

Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Influenza weekly summary, Aug 13-19:

Trend: Increasing / Summer Flu Season
Hospital Admission Rates for Influenza: >0.43/10K (↑16%)
Severe flu cases: 22 (vs. 24 prev week)
Deaths: 11 (vs. 19 prev week)

Specimens positivity rate: 9.83% (vs. 8.69% in prev week)

Packages of non-pharmaceutical interventions with complementary effects, such as masking, social distancing, and other measures, unequivocally reduced #COVID19 infections, our major new report has found: royalsociety.org/news/2023/08/n…

🚨Our MAJOR new The Royal Society report out TODAY

Evidence shows COVID measures together = EFFECTIVE

Key findings:

➡️Distancing/lockdowns=MOST EFFECTIVE measure

😷 FACEMASKS consistently found to be EFFECTIVE

➡️Strong evidence for contact tracing apps

royalsociety.org/topics-policy/…

New research article>

Comparative antibody and cell-mediated immune responses, reactogenicity, and efficacy of homologous and heterologous boosting with CoronaVac and BNT162b2 (Cobovax): an open-label, randomised trial

thelancet.com/journals/lanmi…

#COVID19

Interesting thread:

Extrapolation of leaked crematorium data suggests excess Covid mortality in China of >1.5 million

This is compatible with previous estimates and equates to a mortality rate closer to HK than Singapore

By comparison US/UK 2-3X higher

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Since we're all stuck at home during the typhoon...

Time for another podcast!

Part 1 of 'From Riches to Rags: The tale of the pandemic in Hong Kong' with HKU Professor Ben Cowling!

Out now on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/29fE5a…

And Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fro…