Flu activity remains at a high level, as 148,081 hospital visits for flu-like illness were reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that 100,000 doses of newly purchased government-funded flu vaccines would be available to high-risk groups from tomorrow.
Last week, the number of hospital visits for flu-like illness decreased slightly, but flu activity remained high as 122 severe cases and 21 related deaths were reported, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said.
There have been 917 accumulated cases of severe flu complications, including 181 deaths since this flu season started on Oct. 1 last year, she said
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Influenza A(H1N1) remained the dominant virus strain circulating in the past four weeks, she added.
Of the accumulated cases, 86 percent of the severe cases and 90 percent of the people who died did not get vaccinated this season, the CDC said.
Regarding flu activity in other countries, Lee said it is increasing in Hong Kong, at a high level in Singapore, decreasing in China and Japan, and mostly increasing or at a high level in European countries, the US and Canada.
Influenza A(H1N1) is the dominant strain in most countries, but in South Korea and the US, A(H1N1) and influenza A(H3N2) were the dominant strains in the past few weeks, she added.
Although flu activity is declining in Taiwan, it is still at a high level, but is expected to drop below the epidemic threshold by the end of next month, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.
The centers still urge people to assess their risks and take actions to prevent getting infected with the flu, Tseng said.
The 100,000 doses of government-funded flu vaccines have been examined and distributed to local health departments based on local governments’ vaccination plans last year, she said.
The vaccines would become available for administering tomorrow, and local health departments started publishing the vaccination sites on their Web sites yesterday, she said.
Eligible recipients include people in high-risk groups, including people aged 65 years or older, indigenous people aged 55 or older, nursing home or long-term care facility residents, young children, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions, she said.
Meanwhile, 285,442 hospital visits for diarrhea were reported last week, about 6 percent fewer than the previous week, but still at a high level and the highest for the same week in five years, Lee said.
There were 390 clusters of diarrhea in the past four weeks, also the highest for the same period in five years, she said, adding that 214 clusters tested positive for pathogens and 98 percent were caused by norovirus infection.
The CDC urged people to thoroughly wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating a meal, and to follow the key principles of food safety when preparing food, including keeping hands clean, separating raw and cooked foods, cooking food thoroughly — especially seafood — and storing food at safe temperatures to prevent norovirus infection.
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