Please click Specials: A/H1N1 flu in China

An 11-year-old boy with A/H1N1 flu was pronounced brain dead after several days in a coma, the city's A/H1N1 flu specialist team said yesterday (Nov 24).

The boy surnamed Yuan is on life support after being treated for eight days.

"Doctors detected some movements Sunday, but there were no signs of recovery", Zhou Boping, director of the Shenzhen No. 3 People's Hospital and leader of the specialist team, said yesterday.

"He had signs of brain death over several days and this was confirmed yesterday. The only good thing was that he was not getting any worse and we are still trying our best to save him",  said Zhou.

Both Yuan's parents had a fever with high temperatures Monday, but the symptoms were minor and they did not need hospital treatment, said Zhou.

A 28-year-old pregnant patient, who is in a life-threatening condition, delivered a baby Monday by a C-section in a Longgang hospital. The baby was healthy. The mother is being treated for respiratory failure and heart problems in Shenzhen No. 3 People's Hospital.

Twenty-four hospitals were designated to treat A/H1N1 flu patients. So far, 1,166 A/H1N1 flu patients have been reported in Shenzhen, including 25 in serious condition, the city's center for disease control and prevention (CDC) said yesterday.

Of the 25 serious patients, 16 were now in hospital while nine had already been discharged, the CDC said.

Of the 16, 11 were children were under the age of 10 and all were in stable condition, said Ma Hanwu, vice director of the CDC.

A total of 100,481 people have been inoculated with the A/H1N1 vaccine, including 47,328 students and kindergarten children. Only a small percentage of people experienced slight discomfort, such as inflammation and vomiting, Zhang Shiying, director of the CDC immune department of the CDC, said yesterday.

The city would give inoculation priority to students, but there was a shortage of vaccine for the 1.32 millions student population.

The city applied for more than 1.58 million doses from provincial health departments, but it was not known how many doses would be received get by March, said Zhang.

Hong Kong discovered the first case of virus mutation Monday, but the existing vaccine was still effective, Zhang said.

Doctors strongly suggested that residents should stay at home and rest if they catch flu or fever.

"The virus is very strong and can become very serious in only one day. The condition of most patients in a serious condition deteriorated because of lack of rest" ,said Zhou.

Editor: Miranda