There have been no recent deaths reported from influenza B in Tonga, confirmed the CEO of the Ministry of Health, Dr Siale 'Akau'ola today.

As reported earlier on 8 March, three children died from viral pneumonia caused by the Influenza B outbreak.

Dr 'Akau'ola told Matangi Tonga today that deaths due to flu like illness remained the same.

He said a 36-year-old who recently died was due to bacterial pneumonia, not pneumonia caused by influenza.

"He also had other medical conditions that contributed to his susceptibility to develop pneumonia. Although he tested positive for influenza, clinicians felt it was not the main cause of death. That was the reason why we did not include his death as a influenza death in our statistics,” he said.

“Deaths due to flu like illness remains the same."

Meanwhile, the total number of influenza cases based on syndromic surveillance reportedly dropped by 3% compared to the previous week.

“There are several viruses causing the outbreak not just one. In fact, there are a variable mixture of viruses that have been identified already. They include: Influenza A, Influenza B, parainfluenza virus 2, 3 and 4, Human rhino/entero virus, Adenovirus and RSV,” he said.

Dr 'Akau'ola said last week's update was the 13^th week since the outbreak started, as the first cases were reported in the last week of December 2022 to the first week of January this year.

COVID-19 surveillance cases remained at zero in the last week, he said.