Taiwan weekly flu visits top 115,000, with 19 deaths: CDC

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Weekly outpatient and emergency visits for flu-like illness surpassed 115,000 last week, with 105 severe cases and 19 deaths, extending a recent upward trend, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

A total of 115,136 outpatient and emergency visits for influenza-like illness were recorded in the week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, up 11.0 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Kuo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.

The CDC also reported 105 new severe influenza cases between Sept. 1 and Sept. 7, and 19 deaths, both highs for the current flu season, which the CDC defines as having begun last Oct. 1 and running through Sept. 30.

Laboratory data indicates influenza A viruses remain dominant in Taiwan, with the H1N1 subtype accounting for 79.4 percent of detected cases, Kuo said.

Cumulatively this flu season, Taiwan has recorded 1,329 severe influenza cases and 253 deaths, CDC data showed.

Of the total severe cases, 65.1 percent involved people aged 65 or older, 82.8 percent had underlying chronic illnesses, and 68.6 percent had not received this season's influenza vaccine.

Meanwhile, the CDC said 20,199 doctor visits for COVID-19 were recorded from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, representing a 9.7 percent drop from a week earlier.

The number of locally transmitted cases leading to death from Sept. 1 to 7 was 15, while there were 73 new severe cases during that period, the CDC said.