Flu death toll climbs to 164 in HK

Hong Kong's flu season death toll reached 164 as of Wednesday as more than 200 cases were listed as serious and the city's health authorities scrambled to supply vaccines and hospital beds.

The government has ordered public hospitals to take inventories of their stocks of antiviral flu drugs, with new batches not expected to be delivered until the end of April or early May. The flu season is expected to end in March.

The delay has occurred because stocks held elsewhere are already spoken for, said Leung Ting-hung, controller of the Center for Health Protection.