• By Lee I-chia / Journalist

Accumulated cases of serious flu complications and flu-related deaths reached a decade high this flu season, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, which reported 20,913 hospital visits for enterovirus infection last week, also a decade high.

CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said 68,283 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses were reported last week, which has not yet exceeded the threshold epidemic, but surveillance data showed a relatively high number of serious complications and deaths related to influenza. so far this flu season.

From October 1, the start of this flu season, through Monday, 202 cases of serious flu complications were reported, of which 83 percent had chronic illnesses and 98 percent had not been vaccinated, he said. she indicated.

Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times

Among the severe flu cases, 26 people died, of whom 25 contracted the A(H1N1) flu virus and one contracted the A(H3N2) flu virus, Lee said, adding that not all of them were infected. vaccinated.

The number of serious complications and deaths so far is the highest in the same period – between October 1 and November 11 – in a decade, she added.

The youngest case of serious flu complications was a five-year-old girl who was not vaccinated and developed cold-like symptoms earlier this month, CDC doctor Lin Yung-ching said (林詠青).

She was rushed to the hospital after losing consciousness and tested positive for influenza A(H1N1), Lin said, adding that she was discharged from the hospital on the fifth day.

The youngest death this season was of a woman in her 40s who had cancer and was not vaccinated, Lin said.

CDC Deputy Director General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said seasonal influenza has not yet entered an epidemic period and recent surveillance data suggests it would not arrive early, but likely between early and middle of next month.

However, experience shows that when influenza A(H1N1) is the dominant virus, there tends to be a slightly higher number of serious illnesses and deaths, he said, adding that influenza A( H3N2) could replace it and become the dominant strain around the Moon. New Year – end of January – next year.

The flu vaccine protects against both the A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) flu strains, so people should get vaccinated as soon as possible, he said.

At the same time, enterovirus activity remains high, with 20,913 hospital visits reported last week, an increase of 4.7% from the previous week and the highest for the same week in a decade, Lee said.

A new case of enterovirus infection with serious complications was reported last week: an eight-year-old boy infected with coxsackie virus A16, the dominant strain in recent weeks, she said, adding that the boy s He recovered after his hospitalization.

As the enterovirus epidemic period is usually between summer and early autumn in Taiwan, Lo said hospital visits last week almost exceeded this summer’s weekly peak, and the data Monitoring suggests that the weekly number could continue to rise, reaching an estimated peak of around 22,000 visits per week.

The CDC estimates that weekly hospital visits could begin to decline at the end of the month, and possibly fall below the epidemic threshold by the end of the year, he said.

People caring for young children are encouraged to remain vigilant, help children practice good personal hygiene and watch for signs of serious illness, he added.