Although the peak flu season has ended, people should still take protective measures as 12 flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) also announced that expanded criteria for prescribing government-funded antivirals to treat the flu would be extended until the end of this month, allowing physicians at more than 4,000 contracted clinics and hospitals to prescribe the drugs to people with flu-like symptoms, including foreign nationals with an Alien Resident Certificate.
There were 12,059 emergency room visits for flu-like illness reported last week, down 4.4 percent from a week earlier, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said, adding that there were 46,433 hospital visits for flu-like illness reported, down 11.6 percent week-on-week.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In the past two weeks, the two gauges have been lower than in the same period over the past four years and the number of serious flu complications has dropped significantly, indicating that the peak flu season has ended, she said.
Six cases of serious flu complications were reported last week, with the patients aged between 36 and 87, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said, adding that 12 flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, with the patients aged between 28 and 94.
The youngest death was a 28-year-old woman who lived in central Taiwan, he said.
She had diabetes and was obese, and died of septic shock and respiratory failure after nearly a month in a hospital, Lin said, adding that she did not get vaccinated against the flu this season.
As of Monday, 965 serious flu complication cases, including 112 deaths, were reported for this flu season, which started in October last year, he said.
About 43 percent were people aged 65 or older, followed by 32 percent aged 50 to 64, Lin said, adding that 98 percent of all cases did not get vaccinated this flu season.
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