A newborn who died last week was the second death from serious enterovirus infection this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it also warned that the number of people seeking treatment for diarrhea remained high.
Hospitals reported 3,878 visits for enterovirus infection last week, which was relatively low and below the epidemic threshold, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
Surveillance data from contracted labs showed that the most common enterovirus detected in the past four weeks was coxsackievirus A16, followed by coxsackievirus A6 and echovirus 11, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
The less-than-a-month-old baby in northern Taiwan who last week died from severe enterovirus infection with complications had contracted echovirus 11, he said.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said the baby was born prematurely and was last month hospitalized for respiratory distress.
His condition worsened earlier this month, with low blood pressure, a slow heartbeat, hepatitis and low platelet count, and tested positive for enterovirus, Lin said.
The boy died of septic shock and multiple organ failure about a week after the onset of symptoms, he said.
Contact tracing found that none of his family members, patients or healthcare workers or other patients and healthcare workers where he was hospitalized was infected with echovirus 11, so the infection source is unknown.
There have been three cases of serious enterovirus infection this year, including two people who died, both of whom were infected with echovirus 11, Guo said.
The enterovirus epidemic in Taiwan typically starts in late April and peaks in June, but few cases of severe infection have been reported, with newborns more susceptible to severe echovirus 11 infection, National Taiwan University Hospital’s Pediatric Infection Disease Division director Lu Chun-yi (呂俊毅) said.
People infected with echovirus 11 do not exhibit common symptoms such as hand-foot-and-mouth disease or herpangina (blister-like sores or ulcers in the mouth), and infected children might only develop mild symptoms such as a fever or rashes, he said.
However, newborns up to three months old infected with echovirus 11 might become severely ill due to acute hepatitis, encephalitis or sepsis, Lu said.
Echovirus 11 is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral and respiratory routes, so close contact with infected family members, such as older siblings, is a source of infection; another potential source of infection is vertical transmission from mother to child during birth, he said.
Pregnant women and newborns should avoid contact with infected people, Lu said, adding that pregnant women should pay special attention to their health before and after giving birth, while caregivers should practice good respiratory and hand hygiene, Lu said.
Meanwhile, hospitals reported 186,708 visits for diarrhea last week, down 12.7 percent from the previous week, but still the highest for the same week in five years, Guo said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that weekly visits had declined for four consecutive weeks, and are expected to drop to a low level early next month, but people should continue to practice hand hygiene and food safety.
As for a hot pot restaurant in Yilan County where a cluster of diarrhea cases was reported last week, Tseng said five customers and five food handlers tested positive for norovirus.
The hot pot restaurant chain in Luodong Township (羅東) held a soft opening on March 15, but as of Saturday, 63 customers had reported feeling ill after eating there.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or