The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday encouraged people to wash their hands more frequently as the best protection against enterovirus infection, as the number of weekly reported cases surpassed that of the same period last year.
CDC data showed that a total of 3,769 cases of enterovirus infection were reported nationwide last week, compared with 3,046 in the same week last year.
The accumulated number of serious complications associated with enterovirus infections also rose to four this year, compared with one case each in the same period last year and in 2016, the centers said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said enterovirus activity usually begins to rise in April and reaches its peak around May and June every year.
Enteroviruses are commonly encountered infections, especially in infants and children younger than five, Chuang added.
The four enterovirus-related serious complications reported this year were two coxsackievirus B1 infections, and one coxsackievirus B2 infection and one coxsackievirus A4 infection, he said.
However, eight enterovirus 71 (EV71) infections with mild symptoms were reported this year, Chuang said.
As EV71 can cause serious or even life-threatening complications, the centers will closely monitor the cases, he said.
Past records suggest large EV71 outbreaks occur periodically about every four years in Taiwan, but the last large outbreak was in 2012, he said, adding that sporadic cases would usually be reported at the end of the year before the year of the large outbreak, but the center did not see such signs toward the end of last year.
The CDC teamed up with Ronald McDonald House Charities Taiwan to promote proper handwashing to prevent enterovirus infection at a preschool in Taipei yesterday.
People should wash their hands thoroughly with soap before eating or playing with infants, and after using the toilet, blowing their nose and visiting doctors,” the CDC said.
There is no vaccine to prevent enterovirus infection, so the best prevention measure is to wash hands thoroughly with soap frequently, Chuang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated