As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness.
Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest for the same week in 10 years.
Photo: Lo Kuo-chia, Taipei Times
The number plunged to 88,889 from Jan. 26 to Saturday last week, as many clinics were closed for the holiday, she said.
Hospital visits are forecast to increase this week, as more people seek medical attention, but whether the number would exceed that of the week before the holiday is not clear, she said.
Surveillance data show that the influenza A (H1N1) virus is the dominant strain, she said.
The flu vaccine this season matches the main circulating strain, so getting vaccinated would provide adequate protection, she said.
As of Sunday, there were 641 cases of serious flu complications and 132 deaths reported this flu season (starting on Oct. 1 last year), she said.
Both were the highest numbers in the past five years, she said.
“More than 90 percent of the severe cases and deaths did not get vaccinated this flu season,” she said.
Regarding the flu situation in Japan, the latest official statistics showed that flu activity peaked in late December, and the spread of the disease has been decreasing, while the dominant strain is also influenza A (H1N1), Tseng said.
As of yesterday morning, there were 3,073 healthcare facilities and public health centers nationwide that offer flu shots, she said.
Of the 6.78 million doses purchased for this flu season, there are about 200,000 remaining, she added.
The CDC advises people to check with their local health departments or refer to the CDC’s Web site (antiflu.cdc.gov.tw) to find health facilities that offer the vaccine, she said.
Separately, Chinese Medical University Hospital Infection Control Center deputy director Hwang Kao-pin (黃高彬) said that flu symptoms are usually more severe than that of a common cold.
Aside from respiratory symptoms, the flu often comes with sudden fever, muscle aches and fatigue, Hwang said.
Elderly people, young children, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk of serious illness, but young and middle-aged people can also be at risk, he said.
Cheng Ching Hospital thoracic surgery division doctor Tu Cheng-che (杜承哲) said that the flu is different from the common cold, but it can also be prevented by frequently washing hands, wearing a mask and avoiding crowded places.
People who have the flu and develop one of eight symptoms — difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, cyanosis (bluish-purple color of the skin), blood in phlegm, chest pain, altered consciousness, low blood pressure and continuous high fever — should seek medical attention immediately, he added.
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA