Taiwan reports rising enterovirus, influenza cases

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported surges in both enterovirus and influenza cases on Tuesday, urging heightened public vigilance.

According to the CDC, there were 20,913 visits to emergency departments and outpatient clinics from Nov. 3-9 for enterovirus related cases.

That marked a 4.7 percent increase compared to the previous week and surpassed the 20,282 visits -- the highest during the spring and summer seasons -- recorded in late June.

The epidemic is still on the rise, Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳), deputy director of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Center, said at the CDC's weekly briefing.

It is expected to peak in mid-November with weekly visits reaching up to 22,000, CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said, adding that it will then plateau until the end of November and subside by the end of December.

The latest CDC statistics on school closures due to enterovirus outbreaks show that from Oct. 20-26, a total of 347 classes nationwide were suspended, including 263 kindergarten classes and 27 elementary school classes.

Meanwhile, the CDC reported 202 severe cases of influenza, including 26 deaths, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 11, the highest figures for the period in 10 years.

The ongoing flu outbreak, which has persisted since the summer, is primarily caused by the H1N1 virus, Lo said, noting that this strain has resulted in more severe cases and deaths compared to influenza Type A and Type B viruses.