As the temperature remains low across the country, the influenza activity has been increasing rapidly. On top of that, the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday is about to begin this weekend, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) advises the public to pay attention to hand and respiratory hygiene as they travel across the nation during the holiday. If influenza-like symptoms or signs of severe influenza complications develop, please seek immediate medical assistance, follow the physician’s instructions in completing treatment, and rest at home. Additionally, to provide influenza patients with appropriate health care services during the holiday, a special outpatient clinic for influenza-like illness will be set up at hospitals in each city and county to ensure public access to health care services in their community during the period.

According to the surveillance data compiled by Taiwan CDC, the influenza activity in Taiwan has been up significantly. Last week, a total of 58 new severe influenza complications, including 2 deaths, were confirmed. Since the beginning of this influenza season on July 1, 2015, as of January 31, 2016, a total of 311 severe influenza complications, including 43 deaths, have been confirmed. Among the influenza-associated deaths, 41 were not vaccinated against influenza and 36 had history of chronic conditions. The ER and outpatient consultation rates for influenza-like illness last week respectively were 11.2%, which is slightly up from that the previous week (10.7%), and 1.5%, which is slightly up from that the previous week (1.4%). According to the past year surveillance data, the number of emergency department visits for influenza-like illness likely reaches a peak during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. During Week 2 in 2016, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza virus was 31.9%. H1N1 is currently the dominant strain circulating in the community. Over the recent weeks, some isolates tested are considered as low reactors to the currently used influenza vaccine virus. Thus far, none of the viruses identified has shown drug resistance.

To meet the demand for health care services during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, Taiwan CDC has requested hospitals under its supervision in each city and county to set up a special outpatient clinic during February 6 and 14, 2016. A total of 135 hospitals will be available to receive approximately 1,334 visited patients during the holiday period. The actual visited patient number will vary accordingly. For more information on special outpatient clinics for influenza-like illness, please visit the local health bureau’s website. Further, over 3,000 medical institutes in the nation dispatch government-funded antivirals. Hence, the public is urged to seek prompt medical attention when signs of severe influenza complications develop. When necessary, please follow the physician’s instructions for taking the government-funded antivirals

To ward off influenza infection during the holiday travel season, Taiwan CDC recommends the following measures: pay additional attention to respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, put on a surgical mask when experiencing respiratory symptoms, cover mouth and nose with a tissue or handkerchief when coughing or sneezing, maintain a distance of at least one meter while having conversations with others, and use traditional Chinese two-hand salutes in place of Western handshakes in order to minimize contacts with others. If signs of severe complications such as breathing difficulty, shortness of breath, cyanosis, blood-stained mucus or thickening of mucus, chest pain, change of consciousness, or low blood pressure develop, please put on a mask and seek immediate medical attention. Most importantly, please follow the physician’s instructions in completing treatment and rest at home. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).