Enterovirus epidemic reaches 10-year high for period

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday that more than 19,000 cases of enterovirus infections were recorded from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, the highest number for the period in the last 10 years.

Over those seven days, 19,460 people visited emergency departments and outpatient clinics due to enterovirus infections -- a 4.7 percent week-on-week increase, said CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) at a routine press conference.

"Enterovirus is highly contagious and is most easily spread in places with close contact and frequent interactions between people such as homes, kindergartens, daycare classes and childcare centers," the CDC said in a press statement, referring to a group of small RNA viruses, including polioviruses, Coxsackie A and Coxsackie B viruses.

Tseng speculated that this year's unusually severe autumn-winter outbreak may be due to the fact that many children were not exposed to a wide variety of virus strains during the COVID-19 pandemic period when social distancing measures were implemented.

The CDC spokesperson said that 265 classes of students -- specifically, 25 elementary school classes, 186 kindergarten classes, and 54 classes at other educational establishments -- were suspended from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, compared with 183 in the previous seven days.

Tseng added that the current epidemic is expected to peak in late November, but cases will potentially remain high through December before subsiding.

"The usual seasonal pattern for enterovirus is that outbreaks occur from late March to early April, with the peak in late May to early June," Tseng explained. "After the summer vacation, cases typically decrease but tend to rise again in September with the start of the school year."

"This year, however, the epidemic persisted through the summer and surged in the autumn and winter, which is considered rare," the CDC spokesperson added.

The center urged parents to "implement good hygiene" behaviors such as washing hands with soap and water, and regularly disinfection of home and learning environments.

The CDC also emphasized that young children under five-years-old are at "high risk" of severe enterovirus, which often presents symptoms that include drowsiness, low energy, weakness or paralysis of hands and feet, muscle twitching or contractions, persistent vomiting, and shortness of breath.

"We call on people to pay attention to the early warning signs of severe enterovirus in children" and take them to hospital as soon as possible if symptoms are detected, the CDC press release said.