TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said 20,913 enterovirus cases were treated at emergency rooms and outpatient clinics last week, the highest weekly total this year, with cases expected to rise.
The most severe case of enterovirus infection was an 8-year-old boy in south Taiwan who suffered acute illness, including weakness in his legs. He experienced limb paralysis and was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit, per CNA.
Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳), deputy director of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Center, at a news conference on Tuesday (Nov. 12) noted enterovirus outpatient and emergency room visits from Nov. 3–9 increased by 4.7% from the 19,982 visits the previous week. Lee said the number of infections has yet to plateau.
CDC spokesperson Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said the enterovirus epidemic is expected to peak in mid-November, with the number of weekly doctor visits to reach 22,000. The plateau will continue until the end of the month before significant decline.
Meanwhile, from Oct. 20-26, 347 classes were suspended, including 263 kindergarten and 27 elementary school classes.
Lee said laboratory analysis over the past four weeks showed the majority of enterovirus cases are coxsackievirus A16, followed by coxsackievirus A6. Other viruses, such as coxsackievirus A and enterovirus D68, are active in the community.
According to Lee, there have been seven cases of severe enterovirus infection, including three cases with coxsackievirus A2, two cases with coxsackievirus A10, and one case each with coxsackievirus A16 and coxsackievirus B4. Of these cases, five were under age 1.