Hospital visits for diarrhea and enterovirus infection have been increasing and the trend is expected to continue next month, as schools restart this week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that 13,701 hospital visits for enterovirus infection were reported last week, a rise of 5.8 percent from the previous week and the second week of increases.
Surveillance data from labs showed that the most common enterovirus strain detected in the past four weeks was coxsackievirus A10, followed by coxsackievirus A16, Guo said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Among the cases reported last week, two people had enterovirus D68, a strain that can cause severe acute respiratory illness, he said, adding that the two people had mild symptoms.
Sixteen mild cases of enterovirus D68 have been reported so far this year, he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that enterovirus infection levels have remained in the epidemic range throughout the summer.
As weekly numbers have increased for two weeks and with elementary and high-school classes starting on Friday, cases are expected to continue increasing next month, Lo said.
Enterovirus infections in Taiwan tend to have a large wave from spring to before summer vacation and a smaller wave in autumn after schools start, with the second wave peaking around the Mid-Autumn Festival, he said.
If the trend holds, enterovirus infections would continue to increase after schools start and possibly decrease after the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept. 17 this year, the CDC said.
Guo said that 125,895 hospital visits for diarrhea were reported last week, the second-highest weekly number for the period in 10 years.
Weekly numbers have increased for four consecutive weeks, he said.
CDC data showed that 79 clusters of diarrhea cases were reported in the past four weeks.
Of the 37 clusters from which pathogens had been identified, 56.8 percent were norovirus and 32.4 percent had the Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria.
“Hospital visits for diarrhea often peak around the Mid-Autumn Festival, usually because people undercook meat when barbecuing during the holiday or because they eat contaminated seafood,” Lo said.
With school starting and the Mid-Autumn Festival next month, people should wash their hands frequently and thoroughly, pay attention to restaurant sanitation, and cook meat and seafood thoroughly before eating, the CDC said.
The recent diarrhea cases were mainly caused by viral pathogens, which usually cause vomiting, especially in children, as well as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and fever, Lo said, adding that people usually recover on their own, but they should drink water or other fluids that have electrolytes to prevent dehydration.
People can transmit the illness up to two weeks after their symptoms have subsided, so they should still practice good hand hygiene and disinfect the home environment, he added.
In addition, the CDC said that six imported cases of dengue fever and three cases of chikungunya were reported last week.
Six new local cases of melioidosis were reported in Kaohsiung last week, bringing the total this year to 60, of which 53 were reported after Typhoon Gaemi struck Taiwan last month, it said.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been below the epidemic threshold for two consecutive weeks, so the epidemic period has ended, it added.
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