With schools restarting after a four-week winter recess, risks of highly transmissible enterovirus infections and viral gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, are rising, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The percentage of patients visiting outpatient clinics and emergency rooms because of diarrhea in recent weeks (3.88 percent and 8.16 percent respectively) are higher when compared with the corresponding period last year (3.45 percent and 5.15 percent), the CDC said.
Among those who visited emergency rooms, children aged up to six were the most frequent patients.
The CDC said that since September last year, numerous cases of diarrhea have been caused by noroviruses, which cause gastroenteritis, adding that outbreaks have mostly occurred at schools (preschools and elementary schools), hospitals and nursing homes.
In addition, as temperatures start to rise this month, enteroviruses are also becoming more active, it said.
Schoolchildren are therefore advised by the centers to wash their hands regularly and adhere to the disease prevention concept of “staying home when sick.”
While most norovirus infections are related to exposure to contaminated food, person-to-person transmission is also common, the CDC said.
Since an enterovirus-71 outbreak occurred last year and there are still sporadic cases being reported, the risk of being infected and suffering from complications is not yet negligible, the CDC said.
Enterovirus infections are highly contagious, the CDC warned. Parents with young children are advised to avoid crowded public spaces and schools should instruct students to follow proper hygiene and sanitation procedures.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
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