The government is to broaden the eligibility requirements for publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs on Dec. 15, as the flu epidemic period is expected to begin soon in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Patients with flu-like illnesses account for about 10 percent of emergency room intake, which is expected to rise to 11 percent in the next two weeks, when the flu epidemic period is expected to begin, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told reporters in Taipei yesterday.
The CDC is to expand its eligibility criteria for publicly funded flu antiviral drugs from Dec. 15 to Feb. 28 next year, as the flu season is expected to peak in spring, she said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
People who develop flu-like symptoms and have one or more family members, colleagues or classmates with flu-like illnesses could be prescribed with publicly funded flu antiviral drugs, she said.
Hospitals and clinics are reminded to increase their alertness, ask the travel and contact history of patients, and promptly report cases of severe flu complications to the CDC, Tseng said.
Doctors are additionally put on notice to help eligible patients get their publicly funded flu antiviral drugs in a timely manner to reduce the risk of severe symptoms and death, she said.
Publicly funded flu antiviral drugs, including Oseltamivir, Eraflu and Zanamivir, are available in roughly 4,000 Ministry of Health and Welfare-contracted hospitals, she said.
The nation’s drug stockpile has enough flu antiviral drugs to treat about 2.98 million patients, an amount deemed sufficient for dealing with a seasonal flu outbreak, as approximately 100,000 courses of the drugs were prescribed per month during the expanded eligibility period in previous flu seasons, she said.
People are urged to seek immediate medical attention if they display severe and dangerous flu symptoms, including difficulty breathing, cyanosis (skin, lips or nails turning blue due to low blood oxygen levels), blood in mucus, chest pains, altered state of consciousness and low blood pressure, Tseng said.
Doctors can directly prescribe the publicly funded flu antiviral drugs, without confirming diagnosis through a rapid influenza diagnostic test, to expedite treatment, Tseng added.
The seasonal flu caused 286 people to have severe illness, including 52 deaths, from Oct. 1 through Monday, the highest numbers for the same period in 10 years, but the seasonal flu epidemic period has not started yet, the CDC said.
The public must take this year’s flu season seriously and at-risk groups, including the elderly and pre-school children, should get vaccinated as soon as possible, it said.
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