Adenovirus infections, which can cause respiratory illnesses, exceeded influenza cases last week, and adenovirus infections might enter a peak period this month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
There were 69,393 hospital visits last week for flu-like symptoms, below the flu epidemic threshold, the agency said.
However, among the examined respiratory tract samples with positive results, adenoviruses accounted for 40.5 percent, while flu viruses were 35.1 percent, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said at a Taipei news conference.
Adenoviruses previously accounted for less than 20 percent of the examined samples, but the percentage has been increasing over the past three weeks, Lo said.
It was the first time that adenovirus infections exceeded the percentage of flu virus infections this year, he said.
“There might be a short peak period for adenovirus infections in November, causing more children to experience cold-like symptoms,” he added.
“Adenoviruses can cause a fever of up to 40 degrees Celsius and sometimes continue for about a week, along with cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose or sore throat, but it seldom develops into serious complications,” Lo said.
Infants and people with weak immune systems, or lung or heart diseases might be at risk of developing serious complications, he said.
There is no specific antiviral to treat adenovirus infections, he added.
The CDC urged people to wear masks, seek medical treatment and rest at home if they develop respiratory tract symptoms to avoid spreading the disease.
In related news, there were 11,409 hospital visits for enterovirus infections last week, which is about the same as the week before, showing that the outbreak is still in the epidemic phase, CDC Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
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