Taiwan: Flu season has entered epidemic phase, CDC says

[Commonground]

September 24, 2025


The flu season has entered an epidemic phase, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that COVID-19 cases are also likely to begin climbing next month.

CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said there were 115,993 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses between Sept. 14 and Saturday, a 13.1 percent increase from the previous week, and cases are expected to continue rising.

As emergency room visits accounted for 11.5 percent of the cases, exceeding the nation’s epidemic threshold of 11 percent, it means the flu season has entered its epidemic period, she said, adding that it has arrived earlier than most years.
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CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said surveillance data showed influenza viruses have been the dominant respiratory pathogens circulating in local communities over the past four weeks.

VACCINE PURCHASES

With two long weekends in the first half of next month, gatherings could further heighten the risk of flu transmission, Tseng said.

The government has purchased 6.865 million doses of trivalent influenza vaccines for its publicly funded program this season, and eligible recipients are urged to get vaccinated for protection, she said.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 activity has slowed since peaking in late May and early June, but while Taiwan remains at a low point, cases are rising in many other countries, Tseng said.

Testing positivity rates have been climbing in most regions worldwide, with COVID-19 activity at relatively high levels in Japan, South Korea, the US and Canada, Guo said.
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continued: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/09/24/2003844337

 

[Commonground]

October 8, 2025
Flu cases rise for ninth consecutive week: CDC

NO HALF-MEASURES: The CDC said that regardless of age, full doses of flu vaccines should be administered, but two shots totaling one dose in one day is acceptable


Influenza case numbers rose for the ninth consecutive week last week, with 150,251 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses and 16 flu-related deaths reported in the latest seven-day period, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses were 13.5 percent higher than the previous seven-day period.

The centers previously announced that Taiwan last month had entered the flu epidemic period.
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Respiratory viral pathogen surveillance data showed that flu viruses are the most common viruses circulating in local communities in the past four weeks, with influenza A(H3N2) being the dominant strain, followed by influenza A(H1N1) and influenza B viruses, Guo said.

CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that the 16 flu-related deaths confirmed last week included a five-year-old girl, who did not have underlying health conditions and was not vaccinated against the flu.

She developed a fever and coughing in the middle of last month and was diagnosed with influenza A at a clinic, Lin said.

She rapidly developed symptoms including a persistent fever, diminished consciousness and convulsions, and was rushed to an emergency room, where she was diagnosed with encephalitis, he said, adding that her condition worsened despite treatment.

She died late last month, he said.


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There have been 17 cases of enterovirus infection with severe complications this year, including eight deaths, the most in the same period in six years, Tseng said.

Fourteen of the cases were newborns infected with echovirus 11, including seven deaths, so people should pay special attention for signs of severe illness in newborns and young children with enterovirus infection, she added.
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​https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/10/08/2003845106

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[Commonground]

October 15, 2025
Hospital visits for flu fall by 10.2 percent, CDC says

​Excerpts:

Hospital visits for flu-like illnesses fell by 10.2 percent last week, but observation for the next two weeks is necessary to determine whether the peak has passed, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

Flu viruses remained the most common pathogen in the past four weeks, with influenza A(H3N2) the dominant strain locally, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said, citing surveillance data.
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However, emergency room visits accounted for 13.6 percent of the cases — higher than the 11 percent epidemic threshold — so the flu is still in its epidemic period, she said.

CDC Deputy Director-General and spokeswoman Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that the drop in the data from Oct. 5 to Sunday was likely because many outpatient services were not open for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Double Ten National Day.
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However, the trend has to persist for at least two weeks to confirm the peak has passed, she added.

There were 75 cases of flu with severe complications reported last week, with all of them testing positive for influenza A viruses — 30 with subtype A(H1N1), 42 with A(H3N2) and three unidentified cases, she said.

There were also 10 flu-related deaths last week, and while nine of them had chronic health issues, none were vaccinated against the flu, she said.
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https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/10/15/2003845497