# 1778
It is always a tragedy when a child dies, and over the past week or so, Hong Kong has seen three children succumb to a flu-like illness. This is the height of the flu season, and like many other places in the world, Hong Kong is seeing a rough flu season.
Earlier today the Bangkok Post carried a story about the latest death, that of a 7-year-old boy. The headline of the story claimed the child died of `bird flu', although no supporting evidence for that claim was provided in the article.
Headlines, as you probably know, are usually added by the editor of the paper, not the reporter.
Hong Kong closes school after pupil dies of bird flu
Hong Kong (dpa) - A Hong Kong primary school was closed Tuesday after a seven-year-old pupil died in hospital and 38 other students fell sick with flu.
Law Ho-ming was admitted to hospital with fever and flu symptoms and discharged, only to return two days later on Saturday. He fell into a coma and died Tuesday morning.
Thirty-eight fellow pupils at the Ho Yat Tung Primary School have fallen ill with flu and the school was Tuesday afternoon told by the government to close a week early for its Easter holiday because of the outbreak.
Law was readmitted to hospital on Saturday just 48 hours after being discharged following two days under observation. He quickly lapsed into a coma and was declared dead Tuesday morning.
On March 1, three-year-old Ho Po-yi died just hours after being sent home from Tuen Mun hospital after being taken in by her parents suffering from a high temperature and flu symptoms.
Doctors believe Law may have died of meningitis or a respiratory illness but the two cases have caused alarm among parents in the Tuen Mun district as the city hits the peak of its annual flu season.
Emergency units at hospitals say they are struggling to cope with the volume of parents bringing in children with flu symptoms as unfounded rumours spread that a deadly virus is in circulation.
Proving that bad news travels fast, RIA Novasti, the Russian News and Information service is now running a story quoting `media sources' (apparently the Bangkok Post Story) that the child died of suspected bird flu.
Third child dies of 'flu' in Hong Kong
21:35
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11/ 03/ 2008
SIANGAN (Hong Kong), March 11 (RIA Novosti) - A seven-year-old boy died in Hong Kong on Tuesday after being hospitalized late last week with a suspected strain of bird flu, national media said.
Law Ho-ming had had a fever and a persistent cough for about two weeks before being hospitalized on March 6. He was later discharged, but rushed to the emergency department at Tuen Mun Hospital on March 8. The boy lapsed into a coma and was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from swelling of the brain.
The first postmortem tests have so far proved negative for influenza, however.
Another two children had earlier died several hours after being admitted to hospital in Hong Kong after displaying similar symptoms.
This appears to be a case of one newspaper feeding off of another, building on an earlier report, not an independent confirmation of the original story.
Not being psychic, I have no way of knowing what these children died from. For now, there doesn't appear to be a compelling reason to suspect bird flu.
I expect we'll find out more in the next couple of days.
Until then I'm viewing these news reports with a healthy dose of skepticism.
