The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has urged people to wash their hands with soap instead of using alcohol-based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of noro and enteroviruses, as many schools and business reopened yesterday.
With students returning to school, the risk of clustered norovirus or enterovirus infections is expected to increase, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said.
People should continue practicing good personal hygiene to reduce the risk of infection, especially hand hygiene, as it protects against norovirus, enterovirus and influenza, he said.
Photo: CNA
People should wash their hands with soap, as alcohol-based hand sanitizers are generally ineffective against norovirus and enterovirus, Lin said, adding that people with weak immune systems should wear a mask in crowded venues.
Hospitals reported 2,402 emergency room visits for diarrhea on Sunday, 2.7 percent higher than the previous day, but lower than the same day of the Lunar New Year last year, the centers’ data showed.
Emergency room visits for flu-like illnesses totaled 2,422 on Sunday, a 3.2 percent increase from the previous day, but also lower than the same day of the holiday over the past two years.
As diarrhea cases have been steadily increasing since the first week of the year, the decline in the number of cases last week was likely due to fewer open clinics during the holiday, Lin said, adding that people should stay alert to the symptoms.
Lin said that emergency rooms were less crowded this year, thanks to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s incentives to encourage clinics and hospitals to open during the Lunar New Year holiday.
More than 80 percent of the diarrhea cases were caused by norovirus infection, which is highly contagious, he said.
While cluster infections were mostly among families during the holiday, they could occur in workplaces, schools or other facilities after schools and business resume operations.
Meanwhile, data on flu activity showed that the number of influenza A cases were declining, while the number of influenza B cases was rising.
Influenza B is expected to become the dominant strain soon, but whether it would cause another wave of infections is uncertain, Lin said.
The shift in dominant flu strain indicates that people could catch the flu more than once in the same flu season, he said.
As flu vaccines provide protection against both influenza types, elderly people, young children, people with underlying conditions or weakened immune systems should get a flu shot for better protection, he said.
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