As people are preparing to gather together for barbecue in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival this coming long weekend, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) reminds the public the importance of food safety, thorough cooking and frequent hand-washing in order to ward off food-borne diseases.

During Weeks 34 and 37, the numbers of people seeking healthcare for acute gastroenteritis respectively are 162,199, 149,953, 181,985, and178,297, which are higher than that reported during the same period last year. During the same period last year, the numbers of people seeking healthcare for acute gastroenteritis respectively are 152,223, 147,855, 154,397, and 162,348. According to the real-time outbreak surveillance (RODS) system, the acute gastroenteritis incidence rate has been on the rise among the population aged under 18. The increase is especially significant among children aged between 0-6. Norovirus is currently the dominant strain in the recently confirmed clusters that occurred mainly in schools, followed by restaurant and hotel workers. Thus far this year, a total of 238 diarrhea clusters have been reported.

Gastroenteritis such as diarrhea is transmitted mostly through fecal-oral route. Viruses can survive in the vomitus and stool of infected people for a long time and infect others through the consumption of virus-contaminated food or close contact with the patients. Among the viruses that cause gastroenteritis, noroviruses are highly contagious. Hence, large-scale gastroenteritis outbreaks caused by norovirus are common in schools and densely-populated institutions. On the other hand, shellfish such as oysters and clams are more likely to contain infective microorganisms than other seafood items because they concentrate pathogenic microorganisms from their surrounding waters. People who consume contaminated shellfish raw are at risk of becoming infected with several pathogens.

Hence, Taiwan CDC urges the public to pay attention to food hygiene and proper food preservation and storing. The public is also reminded to avoid consuming undercooked egg and meats or raw shellfish in order to reduce the risk of infection with foodborne pathogens such as salmonella, norovirus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and cholera. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).