8-day old newborn diagnosed with enterovirus, youngest case in 2023

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) An eight-day old child was diagnosed with enterovirus recently, becoming the youngest person to contract the virus this year, though the wider prevalence of the disease declined, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

The patient from southern Taiwan was the sole severe case of coxsackievirus A6 (CV-A6) reported over the past week, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said at a press briefing, adding that there were no indications of the disease when the baby was born.

The baby girl had physical contact with her family and experienced seizures, an accelerated and irregular heartbeat, and had difficulty breathing in mid-October, Lin said.

The newborn was sent to an intensive care unit where she was also diagnosed with herpangina.

The baby was placed on medication while the hospital reported her as a probable severe case of enterovirus. She was subsequently diagnosed with CV-A6, but an MRI and electroencephalography found no anomalies in her brain, Lin said.

The baby girl's situation stabilized and she was removed from the ICU nine days after arriving at the hospital and discharged three days later, according to Lin.

The girl might have been infected with enterovirus at the nursery by her family, who were also diagnosed with the disease before and after her birth, Lin noted.

The spread of enterovirus generally peaks in Taiwan from April to October, but the disease remains active throughout the year, Lin said, adding that adults usually show few symptoms and often inadvertently spread the disease to children.

Meanwhile, a total of 8,831 cases of enterovirus were reported by emergency rooms around the country from Nov. 5-11, representing a 762 -- or 7.9 percent -- drop from 9,593 cases one week earlier, according to data compiled by the CDC.

The virus remains active at a low level in local communities, where CV-A is the dominant strain, the CDC said.

As of Tuesday, Taiwan has reported 11 severe cases of enterovirus, including one death, with CV-A4 and CV-A6 accounting for four each. All of the patients were under the age of 5, the CDC said.