2nd newborn dies of enterovirus complications

Taipei, March 25 (CNA) The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday said that a second newborn under four weeks old has died this year from complications related to severe enterovirus infections.

According to a news release, the boy was a premature baby who was hospitalized with respiratory distress syndrome after being born. In March, he developed symptoms of sepsis including low blood oxygen, bradycardia, hepatitis and thrombocytopenia, and died on March 17.

CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said at a press conference that the boy tested positive for enterovirus and was diagnosed with enterovirus infection with severe complications. He died about one week after showing symptoms.

The newborn was found to have been infected with the enteric cytopathic human orphan virus 11 (Echo 11), the same strain as the first newborn who had died of enterovirus earlier this year.

None of the people in direct contact with the case -- including family members, babies in the same ward and medical staff -- have shown symptoms and the source of infection is yet to be determined, Lin said.

CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told the news conference that three severe enterovirus cases, all linked to the Echo 11 strain, have been recorded in Taiwan this year. Two of the cases, both newborns, have died.

She said the number of severe cases in 2025 was slightly higher than that of the same period from 2021-2024.

The total number of severe enterovirus cases was 0 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 11 in 2023, and 12 in 2024, according to Tseng.

Lu Chun-yi (呂俊毅), head of the National Taiwan University Hospital Pediatric Infectious Diseases department, said at the press event that children under 5 are a common high-risk group for severe enterovirus infections.

Regarding the Echo 11 strain, infections in adults and older children often go unnoticed or cause only mild cold-like symptoms, such as a slight fever, cough, or rash.

However, infants are at high risk of severe complications, Lu said.

The CDC reminded pregnant women and caregivers of infants to pay attention to personal hygiene, wash their hands before holding or feeding infants and refrain from contacting babies when showing symptoms.

The CDC also reminded caregivers to note precursors of severe enterovirus infections, including lethargy, unconsciousness, lack of energy, weak or numb limbs and myoclonic seizures.