On April 23, 2010, Taiwan CDC announced two new cases of enterovirus 71 infection with severe complication. One is the first imported confirmed case this year. The patient is the daughter of a Taiwanese businessman, an 8-month-old female infant whose residence is in Taipei City. During the period between September 23, 2009 and April 19, 2010, the infant lived in China with her family. On April 8, she developed symptoms such as oral ulcer, skin rash, fever, and disturbed consciousness and received treatment at a local hospital in China. When her conditions did not improve, on April 19, she took the emergency medical flight to return to Taiwan for further treatment. At present, she is still hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Her brother was infected with hand-foot-mouth disease in China, and had recovered. No other family members have suspected symptoms.
On the other hand, the second confirmed case is a 2-year-old female child who lives in Yilan County. She developed symptoms on April 20 and was reported to the health authority on April 21. She is currently in critical condition and receiving treatment in an intensive care unit. Thus far, a total of 7 cases have been confirmed this year, while a total of 14 cases were confirmed during the same period last year.
According to the international surveillance data, the hand-foot-mouth disease is currently in the epidemic season in China. On April 11, a total of 192,344 cases were confirmed (a 38% increase compare to the same period last year). Among them, 2,119 cases were severe infections and 94 cases died. The cases were most frequently found in five provinces in China, including Guangdong, Henan, Guangxi, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu. Deaths were found in 18 provinces in China and most of them were in Quangxi and Hunan. Taiwan CDC will continue to closely monitor the epidemic trend of enterovirus infection.
Taiwan CDC advised that the course of enterovirus infection with severe complication changes rapidly. To determine if a child in a household has been infected with enterovirus that could result in severe complications, parents are urged to pay close attention to the symptoms of the sick child. If the sick child developed suspected symptoms such as continuous fever, irritability, drowsiness, disturbed consciousness, inactivity, myoclonic jerk, continuous vomiting, nuchal rigidity, flaccid paralysis, tachypnea, and tachycardia, please take the child to a large hospital for immediate medical treatment. In addition, Taiwan CDC would like to remind parents to avoid traveling with their children to the epidemic area of enterovirus infection unless when necessary, pay attention to personal hygiene and the health of their children, and wash hands frequently to reduce the chance of being infection. For any questions or further information on infectious diseases, please call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline 1922, or visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at https://www.cdc.gov.tw