Hospital visits for flu-like illnesses increased by about 10 percent last week from a week earlier, with local flu activity expected to peak next month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Flu viruses were the most common pathogen spreading in the past few weeks, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said, citing respiratory pathogen monitoring data.
There were 91,842 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses at outpatient departments and emergency rooms last week, up 9.6 percent from the previous week, Guo said.
Photo: CNA
Among the hospital visits last week, 9.7 percent sought treatment at emergency rooms, almost at the epidemic threshold of 11 percent, he said, adding that influenza A(H3N2) was the dominant strain over the past few weeks.
Twenty-three cases of severe flu complications and three flu-related deaths were reported from Tuesday last week to Monday, he said, adding that since the start of the flu season on Oct. 1 last year, there have been 441 severe cases and 86 deaths.
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that among those who died last week was a man in his 60s who had chronic hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and hepatitis B.
The man did not get vaccinated this season, Lin said.
Among the severe cases is a man in his 30s who has hypertension and has a body mass index greater than 35, and also did not get vaccinated this season, Lin said, adding that the man is being treated in an intensive care unit.
Irrespective of age, people with underlying health conditions, chronic diseases and obesity are at higher risk of developing severe complications from flu infection, so they are eligible for the government-funded vaccine and are encouraged to get vaccinated for better protection, Lin said.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said that flu activity is rising and is expected enter an epidemic period in about two weeks, with a peak at about the time of the Lunar New Year holidays in the middle of next month.
With low temperatures, and year-end gatherings and travel, the risk of respiratory infections is high, he said, adding that there are still about 179,000 doses of government-funded flu vaccine available.
The CDC encourages elderly people and those with higher risk of severe illness to get vaccinated, he said.
Meanwhile, cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) last year rose to 347, the highest in five years, Gou said, adding that 36 people died of the disease.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Chiu Cheng-hsun (邱政洵), an infectious diseases specialist, said that global IPD cases fell during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are beginning to increase again.
Pneumonia is the third leading cause of death in Taiwan and pneumococcus is one of the most common pathogens, Chiu said, adding that pneumococcal infection can lead to severe illness such as pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis, or even death.
The fatality rate of IPD can be up to 20 percent, he said.
Studies show that getting vaccinated can provide about 75 percent protection against IPD, he said.
A new government-funded single-dose 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for adults would be available to eligible recipients from tomorrow, Lin Min-cheng said.
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