The New Taipei City Government Public Health Department yesterday urged parents of children up to age five to be vigilant against enterovirus infections as the illness reaches its peak season.
Infections have soared in the past four weeks from 1,014 to 2,116, with classes suspended this year because of suspected cases reaching more than 120, department deputy director Chen Li-chung (諶立中) said.
“Children under age five comprise a high-risk group for enterovirus infections with severe complications and often come down with the disease at home, at school or in after-school institutes,” Chen said.
Enteroviruses are transmitted by the fecal-oral route, via salivary and respiratory droplets, with an incubation period of three to five days, Mackay Memorial Hospital Division of Pediatric Infection physician Chiu Nan-chang (邱南昌) said.
“The disease is almost asymptomatic in the early stages, with the occasional display of flu-like symptoms. Common symptoms include ulcers and blisters on the hands and feet and in the mouth, and it may sometimes deteriorate into more serious complications that could lead to death,” Chiu said.
Chiu said a three-year-old with enterovirus nicknamed A-kai (阿凱) exhibited mild fever, a headache and dizziness after joining other toddlers for a picnic recently.
“He was rushed to the emergency unit after experiencing occasional blackouts and started babbling nonsense the next day. His condition deteriorated rapidly, subjecting him to a high fever, myoclonic jerks, acute heart failure, acute pulmonary edema, meningitis and pneumonia,” Chiu said.
Chiu said while A-kai managed to escape death, the incident had put his parents through extreme stress that he likened to “literal hell.”
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