The Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said in a statement that the flu viruses from the two victims match the genetic makeup of viruses that are already circulating.
"These results confirm that the two children did not die from a new virus that is more virulent than the circulating strains in the region," the statement said.
The two children who died were a 7-year-old boy and a 3-year- old girl. The H1N1 virus found in this boy has the same genetic makeup as the circulating H1N1 (Brisbane) strain in Hong Kong.
While the gene sequencing results on the three-year-old girl found that H3N2 virus in the girl has same genetic composition as the circulating H3N2 (Brisbane) strain, the authorities said.
The tests have confirmed that the two children did not die from a new virus. Meanwhile Hong Kong authorities shut down all primary schools and kindergartens on Thursday. A flu-like illness was reported in 23 of them.
It was the first time that schools in Hong Kong have been closed over a health scare since the 2003 SARS epidemic. SARS killed almost 300 people in Hong Kong and set off international health alarms.
The government was also considering free flu vaccines for children under 12 years old, at a cost of about 100 million HK dollars ($13 million).
