Taiwan could enter another influenza epidemic period as soon as this week, and cases might continue to increase to about 130,000 per week at the Lunar New Year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said flu viruses remained the most common respiratory pathogen in the past four weeks, and the dominant strain spreading is A(H3N2), but a growth in cases of influenza B viruses have also been observed.
There were 104,348 hospital visits for flu-like illness last week, which was 11.9 percent higher than the previous week, and 10.3 percent were emergency room visits, she said.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Municipal Hospital
Seventeen severe flu cases and two flu-related deaths were also reported between Tuesday last week and Monday, Lee said, adding that among the accumulated 458 severe cases this flu season, 83 percent have chronic illnesses and 87 percent were unvaccinated.
Flu activity in nearby nations, including South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, has been declining, but is still relatively high, she said.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said that as the percentage of emergency room visits for flu-like illness increased to 10.3 percent, nearly approaching the epidemic threshold of 11 percent, Taiwan could enter a flu epidemic period this week.
“After entering an epidemic period, we predict the peak would be at the Lunar New Year holiday, with maybe about 130,000 to 140,000 hospital visits per week,” he said.
He urged older people and those with underlying health conditions with high risk of developing severe complications to get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible, as it takes about two weeks after a shot for the body to build effective protection.
Meanwhile, an 11-year-old girl died in hospital on Monday last week after traveling in China with her family for a month and returning with cold-like symptoms. She lost consciousness after she suddenly screamed while traveling in a car on Jan. 10.
She tested positive for parvovirus B19 and was suspected of having virus-induced acute myocarditis.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said she had been reported as a severe flu complication case, but the CDC’s laboratory test for flu came back negative.
Parvovirus B19 infection usually causes mild flu-like or cold-like symptoms about four to 14 days after infection, and it mainly spreads through respiratory droplets (such as coughing and sneezing), he said, adding that some infected people develop no symptoms at all and most people recover on their own.
“However, in rare instances, the virus can invade and affect organs and systems in the body,” he said, adding that people with chronic blood disorders, immunocompromised people and pregnant women are at higher risk of developing severe illness.
If the virus invades the heart, it can lead to severe myocarditis, particularly in children, and the reported mortality rate is up to 30 percent, Lin added.
He said there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for parvovirus B19, so treatment is mainly managing the symptoms, and prevention relies on good personal hygiene.
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A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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