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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS