Taiwan reports highest weekly flu-related medical visits in a decade: CDC

Taipei, Feb. 11 (CNA) Over 180,000 outpatient and emergency visits due to influenza-like illness were recorded last week in Taiwan, the highest number for the same period over the past 10 flu seasons, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

A total of 181,995 influenza-like illness-related outpatient and emergency visits were reported from Feb. 2 to Feb. 8 across Taiwan, marking the highest number recorded for the same period since the 2015-2016 flu season, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Kuo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said at a regular news briefing.

Kuo added that the number of influenza cases with severe complications has been rising, with 128 severe cases and 28 flu-related deaths recorded from Feb. 4 to Monday, most of which were linked to H1N1 infections.

One of the fatal cases was a boy under 10 years old in southern Taiwan, the youngest flu-related death recorded in the current flu season, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.

The boy, who had a history of asthma and had not received a vaccine shot for the current flu season, was infected with influenza A and died about a week after the onset of symptoms, Lin said, adding that the primary cause of his death was influenza-related acute necrotizing encephalopathy.

Regarding the trajectory of the flu epidemic, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) said it could start to decline as early as next week or the week after.

However, with events such as the Lantern Festival on Wednesday, students returning to school on Tuesday after the Lunar New Year holiday, and colder temperatures, fluctuations in the epidemic remain possible, Tseng added.

In terms of flu vaccines, Tseng said that 13,000 doses of government-funded flu vaccines remain available across Taiwan as of Tuesday, urging high-risk groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the CDC reported the first domestic typhoid fever case in 2025, involving a teenage boy who developed symptoms such as muscle pain and recurrent fever after dining at a fishing port in northern Taiwan, with symptoms starting on Jan. 27.

The teenage boy, who has been hospitalized for 10 days as of Tuesday, tested positive for the bacterium Salmonella Typhi in his blood on Feb. 5 and is believed to have contracted the infection from consuming contaminated seafood, according to the CDC.

The intestinal infectious disease has an incubation period of approximately 8 to 14 days, and is primarily transmitted through the consumption of food or water contaminated with the feces or urine of an infected person, Lin said.

He urged the public to maintain proper food and hand hygiene, ensure food is fully cooked and consumed hot, and boil or steam shellfish for at least 10 minutes before eating.