2011/12/28 20:36:58
Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) A 12-year-old girl in Taichung City
died Tuesday of complications from
Type B influenza, marking the central city's first fatal case of flu this year, the city's Public Health Bureau said Wednesday.
The 12-year-old, surnamed Hung, developed flu symptoms on Dec. 14 and was transferred to Taichung Veterans General Hospital for emergency care, the bureau said.
Hung, was given extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after she went into shock with a low blood pressure, respiratory difficulty and a low white blood cell count, the hospital said.
Hung, a student of Tantsu Junior High School, had no travel history and had never received a flu vaccine, the hospital said.
The death of a teenager as a result of flu is rare in Taiwan, although the number of flu cases in elementary and junior high schools has risen this year, said Chen Po-yen, head of the hospital's department of pediatrics.
The outbreak of Type B influenza started in summer and three fifths of pediatrics outpatients at the hospital have been diagnosed with that flu strain, Chen said.
The complications could be serious, therefore, parents need to be on the alert, he warned.
The other five members of Hung's family are in good health but four of her classmates have started to show flu symptoms, the bureau said. However, it is not known whether the students were infected by Hung, it said.
The school said it had disinfected Hung's classroom and the campus several times since she fell ill. Students and teachers who show symptoms of high temperatures or coughs are required to wear masks and will be checked on a regular basis, the school said.
Huang Mei-na, director of the bureau, urged that people over 65 years of age and children between six months and six years take advantage of Taichung's free flu vaccination program as there are still 8,502 doses left. ( By Chen Ching-ping and Maia Haung) enditem /pc
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