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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Enterovirus cases reach epidemic level, CDC says
Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei shows trends in emergency room visits for flu-like illnesses at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
UPDATE: Although there were 87,742 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, numbers are declining, while 186 people were hospitalized for COVID-19
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The number of enterovirus cases has exceeded the epidemic threshold, with 11,643 hospital visits reported last week — the highest number for the same week in a decade, the Centers for Disease Control （CDC） said yesterday.
There were 11,643 hospital visits for enterovirus last week, a 22.3 percent increase from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei （郭宏偉） said.
The number of weekly visits exceeded the epidemic threshold of 11,000 visits in a week, and entovirus cases have been increasing rapidly, Guo said.
Coxsackie A virus is the main enterovirus circulating, but sporadic cases of enterovirus 71 and enterovirus D68, which are more likely to be associated with severe complications, have also been reported, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui （曾淑慧） said.
Lin Tzou-yien （林奏延）, honorary superintendent of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Children’s Medical Center, said that since a large outbreak of enterovirus 71 in Taiwan in 1998, there has been a nationwide outbreak every three to four years, but there has not been one since 2019.
The last nationwide serological survey of enterovirus 71 was conducted in 2017, and the positivity rate among children aged six or younger was less than 10 percent, Lin said.
It is concerning that most young children lack immunity against enterovirus 71, as it might lead to another large outbreak, he said.
Enteroviruses are highly contagious and children under the age of six are at higher risk of developing severe symptoms, so the CDC urges people who have young children at home or who work with young children to practice good personal hygiene and wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, Tseng said.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are not very effective against enteroviruses, so people should wash their hands with soap, disinfect surfaces with chlorine bleach and maintain good air flow, she said.
If children with enterovirus develop severe symptoms, such as weak limbs, drowsiness, altered consciousness, lethargy, muscle spasms, repeated vomiting, shortness of breath or a rapid heartbeat, caregivers should immediately take them to hospital, she said.
Guo said there were 87,742 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, showing that the number of flu-like illnesses is dropping, but 26 cases of severe flu complications and four flu-related deaths were reported.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching （林詠青） said the youngest person to die from flu complications last week was an eight-year-old girl who had no underlying health conditions.
She began vomiting early this month, and took medicine from a clinic, but her condition worsened and she tested positive for influenza A, he said.
The girl died of acute necrotizing encephalopathy and cardiac arrhythmia on the fourth day of hospitalization, he said.
In addition, 186 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 and 31 people died from the virus last week, Guo said, adding that 79 percent of those who were hospitalized and 90 percent of those who died were aged 65 or older.
As there is still a risk of contracting COVID-19 and flu, the CDC recommends that people who have flu-like symptoms take a rapid COVID-19 test at home and seek medical attention immediately if they develop signs of severe illness, including shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, cyanosis （bluish skin, lips or nail beds）, blood in phlegm, chest pain, low blood pressure or altered consciousness.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
