As summer's blistering heat approaches, so does the annual peak season for enterovirus, which has caused one death and 24 serious cases so far this year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
"Typically, enterovirus will reach its peak in July here. When school begins again in September, there will be another peak," center Deputy Director Chou Jih-haw (
According to the center's data, 24 severe cases of enterovirus have been confirmed, an alarming two-fold jump compared with the same period last year.
"The number of toddlers infected with enterovirus has increased steadily over the past eight weeks. Parents must be prepared for an enterivirus outbreak," said Wu Ping-fuai (吳炳輝), the director of the center's Division of Quarantine and Intervention Activities.
Among the 24 severe cases, 12 were found to be infected with the substrain enterovirus 71, which has a higher mortality rate.
"Although not all severe cases belong to the enterovirus 71 subtype, this particular strain is actually more dangerous than others in the enterovirus family," Chou said.
Another sign of the imminent enterovirus epidemic is the rise in average number of suspected cases reported by hospital doctors around the country.
Last week, every doctor in contact with the CDC reported about 2.21 cases suspected of enterovirus infection, while that figure has increased by 30 percent to 3.05 so far this week.
Three infants were ill with entirovrus last week, according to health officials.
On May 1, a four-year-old boy in Hsinchu County developed a fever, sore throat and hand, foot, and month disease (HFMD), an infection which produces painful blisters in the month and on the palms, fingers or the soles of the feet.
"We believe he has recovered and left the hospital," Wu said.
In Taichung County a two-year-old girl suffered painful muscle spasms in her chest and upper abdomen and broke out in rash on May 5 while a two-year-old boy in Chunghwa County started experiencing similar symptoms on April 29.
"These two babies are on the mend," Wu said. "Even though we are still waiting for results of their specimen analyses from the lab, doctors can almost confirm them as enterovirus cases from the typical symptoms the babies exhibit."
With appropriate medical treatment, most babies recover from this common childhood illness. Some, however, develop encephalitis or become paralyzed, and never fully recover. Some cases deteriorate into acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, herpangina or aseptic meningitis and result in fatalities.
"The summer heat will fuel the disease's spread. Parents should keep a close eye on their babies and wash their hands more often," Chou said.
As an outbreak of enterovirus is raging at present in Singapore -- where 6,835 infants have been infected so far this year -- the CDC called for people traveling to Singapore to take special care
"In the first week of this month, 454 children were infected with enterovirus in Singapore. It's better to keep children away from crowded places if you travel to Singapore," Wu said.
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