3-month-old boy youngest severe flu case this season: Taiwan CDC

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) A 3-month-old boy has become the youngest severe influenza case of the current flu season after contracting influenza B and developing bacterial pneumonia, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

The infant was admitted to an intensive care unit at one point but was transferred to a general ward after his condition stabilized on the seventh day of hospitalization, CDC epidemiologist Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) told a regular news briefing.

He was discharged in mid-February after a total of 10 days in hospital, Lin added.

More broadly, the CDC reported that 58,075 outpatient and emergency visits for influenza-like illness were recorded from Feb. 15 to Saturday during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Between Feb. 14 and Sunday, five new severe influenza cases and two deaths were reported, Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳), deputy director of the Epidemic Intelligence Center, said at the routine briefing.

CDC spokesperson Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said influenza-related visits accounted for 12.1 percent of all emergency department visits during the holiday, but only one day saw all counties and cities exceed the epidemic threshold of 11 percent, and levels dropped the following day.

Based on that trend, the CDC estimates influenza activity will not enter an epidemic period after outpatient services resume, and expanded eligibility for publicly funded antiviral medication will end on Saturday, Lin said.

CDC Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said that based on trends over the past one to two weeks, influenza B is expected to surpass influenza A in March.

Lo said a small wave of infections is expected in spring, with weekly visits possibly reaching 110,000, though not enough to be considered an epidemic period.

Because three major influenza types have already circulated this season, the likelihood of a summer influenza outbreak this year is not high, Lo added.