Amid reports of cluster infections of severe seasonal flu, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday urged people who have yet to receive flu shots to get them before the peak flu season begins.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) told a press conference that health officials in Hualien County had recently received reports that a family of six — a father, mother and four young children — had all been infected with the seasonal flu virus. Two of the children, aged two and four, had severe cases and were in a stable condition after receiving treatment.
Chou said none of the family members, among them three children who qualified for free flu shots, had been inoculated. As a result, individuals with weaker immune systems — such as the children aged two and four — risked severe infections if they contract the virus, Chou said.
The CDC called on parents to take their children to be vaccinated and ignore “unsubstantiated rumors” that the flu shots are harmful. Health officials said cooler temperatures expected this winter could mean that the peak flu season could occur earlier than normal. As it takes about two weeks after receiving the inoculation for the body to develop immunity, CDC officials encouraged people in high-risk groups to receive the shots as soon as possible.
The CDC also said that children in grades five and six who were originally scheduled to receive the shots starting next month now qualify to receive free shots immediately.
The CDC has purchased almost 3 million flu shots this year, but so far only 1.7 million have been dispensed.
In related news, the Department of Health announced that a Taiwanese man diagnosed with the NDM-1 so-called superbug after returning from India last month no longer carries the bacteria.
Early last month, the man, who was in New Delhi as part of a film crew, was injured in a shooting incident and received treatment at a local hospital.
Upon his return to Taiwan, health officials said that the man was an asymptomatic carrier — meaning that although he carried the bacteria, he showed no symptoms of the disease — but there was no need to put him in quarantine.
Health officials yesterday announced that after more than three weeks of follow-up examinations, they found that the man, who was in good physical condition, no longer carried the bacteria.
The new strain of bacteria, named New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1, is resistant to most known antibiotics and was listed as a category-four communicable disease by the Department of Health in September, meaning that hospitals and clinics must immediately report any suspected cases.
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