People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday.
There were 82,187 hospital visits for flu-like illness last week, about 14 percent fewer than the previous week, and emergency visits accounted for 8.9 percent of the total visits, indicating a non-epidemic period, she said, adding that flu activity shows a gradually reducing trend.
Photo : CNA
She said there were 13 cases of flu with severe complications and two deaths reported last week.
Lee said global flu activity is slowing down in neighboring countries, but while cases are declining in Japan, flu activity remains at a relatively high level, where the dominant strain is also influenza B.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said aside from the flu, Japan has reported relatively high levels of infectious gastroenteritis and an increase in measles cases in the past several weeks.
The CDC reported last week that accumulative measles cases in Japan since the beginning of this year has reached the highest number for the same period since 2020, with cases concentrated mainly in Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture.
Lin said people who just returned from Japan are advised to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles, and if they develop symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, rashes or any suspected symptoms within two weeks, they should tell the doctor about their travel history when seeking medical attention.
The CDC advised people to continue practicing good hand hygiene and cough etiquette — frequently washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, wearing a mask and resting at home when experiencing a fever and coughing — to prevent contracting or spreading respiratory diseases.
Infected individuals should watch for signs of severe illness, such as difficulty breathing, chest pain and altered consciousness, and seek emergency medical assistance if they occur, the centers said.
The CDC said there were 1,073 hospital visits for COVID-19 last week, indicating a low level of viral activity.
Lin said COVID-19 activity has been rising in a few countries, and past experiences indicate there could be a wave of infections in Taiwan this summer, so high-risk individuals are still advised to get vaccinated and that government-funded COVID-19 vaccination has been extended to April 30.
Additional reporting by CNA
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