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.
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