According to the surveillance data compiled by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC), the ER consultation rate and the outpatient clinic visit rate for diarrhea, which respectively are 8.16% and 3.88%, are both higher than that during the same period last year, which respectively are 5.15% and 3.45%. The ER consultation rate for diarrhea is the highest among children aged between 0-6. Since September 2012, several diarrhea outbreaks caused by norovirus have occurred and they have occurred mainly in kindergartens and elementary schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other institutional settings. In addition, as the weather will become warmer in March, enterovirus will become more active. Therefore, schoolchildren are advised to wash hands properly and frequently and stay home when sick in order to prevent the transmission of viral gastroenteritis and enterovirus.

Noroviruses are highly contagious and primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route by consuming contaminated food or water and coming into contact with things that have virus on them. As norovirus is highly infectious, people who work with food should know the virus can easily contaminate food. Therefore, food handlers who are sick with norovirus should refrain from working with food while sick and the public should maintain good personal hygiene habits such as avoid drinking unboiled water, avoid eating raw foods, and wash hands frequently to prevent norovirus from spreading.

Although the enterovirus epidemic has plateaued, the enterovirus activity will increase when the temperature rises in March. After the large-scale enterovirus epidemic that occurred last year, sporadic cases have continued to occur in the community. The risk of enterovirus infection and the associated complications cannot be completely eliminated. Taiwan CDC once again warns that enterovirus is highly contagious and the risk of transmission is higher crowded places, including kindergarten, child care centers and student care centers. Hence, adults are advised against taking children to crowded public places and brining children into contacts with infected individuals. Both adults and children should develop good personal hygiene habits, including seeking medical attention immediately when sick, resting at home when sick, and avoiding contact with infants and young children and visiting crowded places when sick in order to reduce the risk of disease transmission and risk of developing complications and ensure prompt recovery. Moreover, child care facilities are advised to reinforce the importance of frequent hand washing and good hand washing technique for all children, clean and disinfect the environment regularly, and follow the government’s policies to report cases and suspend classes accordingly.

Taiwan CDC urges parents to pay close attention to the symptoms of the child diagnosed with enterovirus infection, if the sick child develops suspected symptoms such as drowsiness, disturbed consciousness, inactivity, flaccid paralysis, myoclonic jerk, continuous vomiting, tachypnea, and tachycardia, please take the child to a large hospital for medical attention immediately in order to ensure prompt treatment. For any questions or further information on viral gastroenteritis and enterovirus, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-024582 if calling from a cell phone, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw.