TAIPEI: Taiwan's Department of Health has reported four new severe cases of flu cases, three related to A (H1N1) influenza.

At a press conference yesterday, Center for Disease Control spokesperson Lin Ding said that the three A (H1N1) infections classified as severe were recorded in a 32-year-old man and two kindergarten boys, aged five and three respectively.

All are in stable condition after receiving invasive treatment such as intubation, he said.

Compared to the severe flu cases last month, the new cases seemed less serious though there were complications, Lin said.

Twelve severe flu cases have been reported in Taiwan since July 1, according to CDC figures. Two of the patients have recovered and nine are still undergoing treatment.

There was one death attributed to A (H1N1). The patient had suffered chronic liver and kidney diseases before contracting flu.

The severe flu cases included those caused by seasonal flu, reported CDC director Steve Kuo.

Unlike the severe A(H1N1) infections, which seem to strike young adult males and boys only, sufferers of severe seasonal flu are women or senior citizens, Kuo said.

Fifteen cluster infections of A (H1N1) have been reported to the CDC since July 1.

Taiwan has also suffered a cluster infection of seasonal flu virus A (H3N2). A variant of A (H3N2) has been detected in clinical respiratory samples of A (H1N1) patients, causing worries of possible mutation.

The A (H3N2) cluster infection involved a children's dance troupe, which visited Shenzhen and Hong Kong in late July. Eleven children developed fever after the troupe's returning. One of them was a member's sibling, who had not left Taiwan.

It's hard to conclude the troupe members contracted A (H3N2) in Hong Kong. But considering the incubation period of the virus, this is a possibility, Lin said.

In a statement issued on the CDC website yesterday, the agency warned the public of an increase in flu cases.

Some 14 percent of clinical respiratory samples tested positive for flu, it said in the statement.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 08/05/2009 page2)