A child died last week from enterovirus infection, the first death this year from the disease, while a rare case of severe enterovirus infection was reported in a man in his 30s, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
The child, who died in southern Taiwan and was younger than 10, did not have underlying health conditions, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
She saw a doctor due to vomiting on March 11 and was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis, but later developed symptoms including headache, diarrhea and general weakness, he said.
Photo: CNA
On the fourth day after the onset of symptoms, she lost consciousness and was rushed to a hospital, during which her heart temporarily stopped, Lin said.
After resuscitation, she was in severe cardiogenic shock with multiple organ failure, and was put on life support and admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), he said.
Further examinations confirmed she was infected with rotavirus and coxsackievirus A4, he said.
Her condition rapidly worsened and she died of fulminant myocarditis (sudden and severe cardiac inflammation) on the seventh day from the onset of symptoms, he said.
Regarding the man with enterovirus, infections predominantly affect children, making the severe infection of a person in their 30s rare, Lin said.
When the man, who has a record of a malignant tumor, was hospitalized for treatment in northern Taiwan on March 2, he was diagnosed with a fever and pneumonia, and continued to have a fever and difficulty breathing while in hospital, he said.
Tests confirmed that the man had fungal and enterovirus D68 infections.
The man also experienced convulsions, altered consciousness, low blood oxygen levels and neurological symptoms on the 10th day after his hospitalization, which his doctor deemed as enterovirus-induced encephalitis, Lin said.
The man is still in an ICU, he said.
Hospitals reported 3,009 emergency visits for enterovirus infection last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said.
Virus surveillance data showed that the dominant enterovirus strain in the past four weeks was coxsackievirus A — mainly A6, followed by A16 and A4, she said.
Enterovirus activity typically increases after Lunar New Year and rapidly rises after Tomb Sweeping Day — which is this year on April 5 — before reaching a peak near Dragon Boat Festival, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) said.
Enterovirus activity usually slows during summer, and begins to increase again after school starts in early fall, he said.
That trend is likely to be the same this year, with weekly cases remaining about the same or gradually increasing before Tomb Sweeping Day, and growing faster afterward, Lin Min-cheng said.
As young children are at higher risk of developing severe complications from enterovirus infection, parents and educators should remind children to practice good hand hygiene — washing hands with soap, as alcohol-based sanitizers are ineffective in killing enterovirus — and also disinfect contaminated surfaces with diluted bleach, he said.
Parents should also keep infected children at home to rest and avoid direct contact with other children, while paying close attention to signs of severe complications, including sleepiness, altered consciousness, limb weakness, convulsions, rapid heartbeat, convulsions, shortness of breath and persistent vomiting, and seek immediate treatment if they occur, he said.
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