Taiwanese emergency rooms reported 3,966 patients with influenza-like symptoms on Wednesday, the second day of the Lunar New Year, the lowest number during the holiday period in four years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The figure represents about 60 percent of the 6,693 patients with severe flu symptoms on the same day last year and 6,791 patients the year before that, CDC Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said in a news conference in Taipei.
Improved inoculation rates are the likely cause of the improvement, he said, adding that the 6.74 million injections reported in October last year were the highest number ever recorded.
Photo: Taipei Times
This result showed that special vaccination clinics, National Health Insurance subsidies for flu jabs and the opening of urgent care centers have been successful, Lo said.
The influenza B virus now accounts for half of community flu transmissions, in a sign that the pathogen is overtaking the influenza A virus, he said.
The trend is in line with infection numbers in Japan where the A and B subtypes each account for about half of all flu cases, Lo said.
Influenza B viral infections are characterized by the predominance of gastrointestinal complaints and muscle aches, with a risk of rhabdomyolysis in severe cases, he said.
People in high-risk groups — including, infants, elementary and junior high school-aged children, people more than 50 years of age, pregnant women and medical care workers — are urged to get vaccinated, Lo said.
Taiwan has 80,000 doses of subsidized flu B vaccines remaining and supplies are expected to last until next month, he said.
People taking part in public activities are advised to wash their hands and prepare hand sanitizers, and older people and people with immunodeficiency should also wear masks to minimize infection risk, Lo said.
The centers on Thursday, the third day of the Lunar New Year, reported 3,147 patients with severe flu-like symptoms, a 50.5 percent drop compared with the same day last year, a 52.4 percent drop compared to the year before that and a 12.2 percent compared with 2023, CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said.
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