The number of enterovirus infection cases reported last week nationwide increased by 35 percent. As the epidemic season has begun in Taitung County, other counties and cities should also be on the alert because the numbers are continuously growing, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said a total of 6,499 enterovirus cases were reported last week, up from 4,809 cases the week before.
The cases last week were mostly reported by outpatient departments, and the majority of cases were identified as Coxsackievirus group A infections, but there have been sporadic cases of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection, including two cases of serious complications caused by EV71 infection this year.
Chung said the number of cases reported Taitung County last week (112 cases) has exceeded the epidemic threshold (70 cases), so the county is now considered in the epidemic season already, and that the number of cases reported in Taichung last week has reached 74 percent of its epidemic threshold.
“The centers have contacted the Taitung County government, asking it to supervise infant and child care centers to properly disinfect their facilities,” he said.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center division chief Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the number of enterovirus cases reported nationwide last week has not exceeded the national epidemic threshold of 11,000 cases, but the centers’ surveillance statistics showed that the trend is growing.
The centers urged people to especially watch for signs of serious complications caused by enterovirus infection in children, including drowsiness, unconsciousness, low vitality, weakness in limbs, muscle twitching, continuous vomiting, shortness of breath or rapid heartbeat, and take them to a doctor if the symptoms occur.
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