Hospital visits for flu-like illnesses fell by 10.2 percent last week, but observation for the next two weeks is necessary to determine whether the peak has passed, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Flu viruses remained the most common pathogen in the past four weeks, with influenza A(H3N2) the dominant strain locally, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said, citing surveillance data.
There were 137,988 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, about 10.2 percent fewer than the previous week, Lee said.
Photo: CNA
However, emergency room visits accounted for 13.6 percent of the cases — higher than the 11 percent epidemic threshold — so the flu is still in its epidemic period, she said.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that the drop in the data from Oct. 5 to Sunday was likely because many outpatient services were not open for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ten National Day.
The drop does not necessarily mean the peak has passed, but with vaccinations and expanded use of oral antiviral drugs, it is possible that the data would continue to decline, she said.
However, the trend has to persist for at least two weeks to confirm the peak has passed, she added.
There were 75 cases of flu with severe complications reported last week, with all of them testing positive for influenza A viruses — 30 with subtype A(H1N1), 42 with A(H3N2) and three unidentified cases, she said.
There were also 10 flu-related deaths last week, and while nine of them had chronic health issues, none were vaccinated against the flu, she said.
Regarding international flu activity, case numbers are high in Hong Kong, and increasing in China and Japan, while they are low in South Korea, the US, Canada and European countries, Lee said.
Since the government-funded flu vaccination program was launched on Oct. 1, more than 2.1 million doses have been administered, 1.35 times the number administered in the same period last year, Tseng said.
As there is a high willingness among the public to get vaccinated and with flu infection risk still high, the CDC has ordered an additional 200,000 doses, she said.
After distributing vaccines allocated for flood-affected areas in Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復), the rest would be distributed to local health departments according to the proportion of eligible recipients in their regions by early next month, she said.
Since a peak of COVID-19 cases in late May and early June, weekly cases have dropped for 18 consecutive weeks, Tseng said.
However, COVID-19 activity is rising in many countries, including Japan, South Korea and the US, she said, adding that the CDC encourages eligible recipients to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
With today being World Hand Hygiene Day, people should remember to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, as it is one of the most important and effective methods for preventing infectious diseases, Tseng said.
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