Hong Kong's health authorities announced Wednesday that a new variant of the H3N2 seasonal influenza virus had been found in the city, Xinhua reported. The Brisbane strain had been the prevalent circulating strain of H3N2 in the past year and the new variant is its direct descendent, said Thomas Tsang, controller of Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection. "However, it has some genetic changes distinguishing it from the old Brisbane strain," he said. He said it is normal for viruses to have some changes, adding overseas health authorities, including those in Canada, Britain and Australia, had also found the new variant. Although vaccines provided for the northern hemisphere may not be a direct match for this new variant, they would still give some protection against it, said Tsang. "At this point, there is no scientific evidence pointing to an increase in severity or anti-viral resistance of this new variant," he said. "But we will be monitoring this virus very closely in Hong Kong to see if there is any abnormal pattern during the summer peak and beyond." Noting the vaccines will be widely available in Hong Kong in a month, Tsang appealed to high-risk groups, such as those with chronic diseases, the elderly and children, to get flu jabs. H3N2 accounts for 43 percent of flu viruses circulating in Hong Kong while Influenza A/H1N1 accounts for 49 percent.
