Experts warn chronically ill tourists against traveling to flu-hit destinations after Barbie Hsu's death

By Hoang Vu   February 3, 2025 | 07:58 pm PT
Experts warn chronically ill tourists against traveling to flu-hit destinations after Barbie Hsu's death
People walk and take photos under cherry trees at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, March 21, 2023. Photo by Reuters
Medical experts in Hong Kong are urging tourists with chronic health conditions to postpone trips to areas that have been experiencing a surge in flu cases.

"High-risk patients should consider delaying their travel if the destination is facing a serious influenza outbreak," said Dr. Leung Chi-chiu, a respiratory medicine specialist, as cited by the South China Morning Post.

He warned that travelers with pre-existing medical conditions are more likely to develop severe complications if they contract the flu.

Other respiratory health experts advised travelers to get a flu shot at least two weeks before departure to allow time for antibodies to develop.

They also recommended wearing masks in crowded areas, maintaining good hand hygiene when visiting countries with widespread flu activity, keeping a record of local emergency contacts and purchasing travel insurance before their trip.

This guidance comes after Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, 49, also known as "Big S," passed away on Sunday due to influenza complicated by pneumonia while on a vacation in Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Her death has sparked a wave of online discussions, with netizens sharing their own experiences of falling ill after visiting Japan, according to The Standard.

In one online forum, a thread asking if others had experienced significant illness after traveling to Japan attracted numerous responses.

Since the start of 2025, avian influenza has been spreading rapidly across Japan.

5,000 designated medical institutions reported 172,417 influenza cases from Jan. 6 to 12, averaging 35.02 patients per institution—surpassing the alert threshold of 30 for the fourth consecutive week, according to Kyodo News.

In China, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month that while the influenza infection rate has shown signs of slowing, the overall number of acute respiratory illness cases continued to rise.

Flu activity was expected to gradually decline from mid-to-late January.

Taiwan's flu season began in the first week of January.

From Jan. 19 to 25, hospital visits for flu-like illnesses reached 162,352, the highest number recorded for the same week in a decade, according to the Taipei Times.

 
 
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