Influenza activity is increasing, with more than 100,000 hospital visits for flu-like illness last week, 35 cases of severe flu complications and seven flu-related deaths, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Of the respiratory disease specimens identified at contracted laboratories in the past four weeks, the most common were flu viruses, accounting for 54.8 percent, followed by adenoviruses (16.7 percent) and respiratory syncytial viruses (12.1 percent), CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
Laboratory monitoring data showed that influenza A strains H3N2 and H1N1 are circulating, with the former accounting for a slightly higher proportion, Guo said.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
About 83 percent of clusters of upper respiratory infection reported last week were in schools, he said, adding that 54 clusters were reported in schools.
There were 102,087 hospital visits for flu-like illness reported last week and the weekly number has been increasing for the past four weeks, he said.
Thirty-five cases of severe flu complications were reported last week, he added.
Among the 35 cases, three were children under the age of 10, including a one-year-old girl who developed flu-like symptoms and a week later had seizures and fell unconscious, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
Doctors suspected that the girl had encephalitis, Lin said, adding that she recovered after being hospitalized for a week.
A six-year-old boy developed altered consciousness, an unstable gait, pneumonia and encephalitis, but his condition improved after treatment, Lin said, adding that the child remained in hospital for observation.
An eight-year-old girl developed flu-like symptoms and weakness of the lower limbs, with encephalitis suspected, he said, adding that she recovered after hospitalization.
People should watch for signs of encephalitis, including neurological complications such as sleepiness or lethargy, altered levels of consciousness, lower limb weakness and seizures, he said.
They should seek medical attention as quickly as possible, as acute necrotizing encephalopathy can progress rapidly, leading to death, he added.
The seven flu-related deaths were people aged 50 to 90, all of whom had underlying health conditions, Lin said.
They died of pneumonia one to two weeks after the onset of symptoms, he said.
CDC data showed that from Oct. 1 last year to Monday, there were 699 confirmed cases of severe flu complications, with 452 infected with H1N1 and 81 percent having underlying health conditions.
The data showed that 156 of them died.
Guo said that 2,016 local cases of dengue fever were reported last week, with 1,849 cases in Tainan.
Three deaths from the disease were reported, all people in their 70s, he said.
There were 12,982 hospital visits for enterovirus infections last week, 5 percent higher than the previous week and still above the epidemic threshold, so people should pay attention to transmission risks for children and watch for signs of severe complications after infection, he said.
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