The Centre for Health Protection has received three new reports of children being admitted to hospitals with suspected influenza-related complications, bringing the total to 23.

The cases involve a three-month-old girl and two girls aged two and seven. The baby was admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital March 20, while the two-year-old was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital March 19. Both are stable.

The seven-year-old was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital's Intensive Care Unit on March 20 and is in serious condition.

The number of cases with laboratory evidence of flu infection is six. Of them, five patients have been discharged and one is stable.

For the remaining 17 cases, preliminary tests on 13 patients returned negative flu results. Results are pending in the remaining case.

Meanwhile, the centre received one new report of an influenza-like illness outbreak affecting two men and a woman aged 46 to 90 in a Kwun Ton elderly home.