The CDC’s latest data show that the influenza epidemic has claimed two more lives, while four new cases of monkeypox have been reported, including three domestic cases. The total number of domestic monkeypox cases to date is 10, and registration for vaccines began March 21.
The domestic monkeypox epidemic is heating up. The CDC has announced four new cases of monkeypox, and the infected persons are all Taiwanese males in their 30s and 40s. Three are domestic cases, located in New Taipei City, Miaoli County, and Yilan County. The fourth case was returning from Japan and 14 high-risk contacts have been identified. They will be monitored until March 27. The total number of domestic monkeypox cases now stands at 10.
Lo Yi-chun, Deputy Director General, CDC: “We haven’t found any links between domestic (monkeypox) cases, so they’re all considered isolated cases. The main point is that the risk of community transmission continues to increase.”
Meanwhile, the number of people seeking medical treatment for influenza reached 47,000 last week. The dominant strain is influenza A virus subtype H3N2. Two new deaths have been reported, one in their 50s and one in their 80s. Neither had received the current influenza vaccine.
Lin Yung-ching, Medical Officer, CDC: “These two cases both had chronic diseases. Both had diabetes. There were also some nervous system or liver and kidney-related chronic diseases.”
The CDC said the risk of community transmission of monkeypox continues to increase, so it moved up the date to register for vaccines to 3 p.m. on March 21. There will be one hospital in each of the six special municipalities designated as the vaccination site. For the first round, 2,500 vaccines are available, and the earliest they will be administered is on March 22 at Taoyuan General Hospital.
The domestic monkeypox epidemic continues to heat up. The CDC announced that there are 4 new confirmed cases of monkeypox, all of whom are males of local nationality, aged between 30 and 40. Among them, 3 cases are local cases, and the cases live in New Taipei City, In Miaoli County and Yilan County, the other case is an imported case from outside Japan. A total of 14 high-risk contacts have been listed. The longest monitoring day will end on March 27. There are already 10 local monkeypox cases.
Luo Yijun, deputy director of the CDC, explained: “In fact, the local monkeypox cases have not been found to be related to each other, so they are all sporadic cases, and the main reason is that the risk in the community continues to increase.”
In addition, the flu virus continues to show its power. Last week, the number of visits to the outpatient and emergency department for influenza-like diseases reached more than 47,000. The influenza virus was mainly type A H3N2, and there were 2 new deaths from influenza, aged in their 50s and 80s. Neither has had this season’s flu vaccine.
Lin Yongqing, an epidemic prevention physician of the CDC, pointed out: “These two cases have a history of chronic diseases, both of them have diabetes, and there are some things like chronic diseases of the nervous system, or liver and kidney.”
The CDC stated that considering the increased risk of community transmission of monkeypox, the registration platform for monkeypox vaccine will be opened at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, 21st, and each of the six capitals will set up a cooperative hospital to provide high-risk groups with appointments for vaccination. The first batch will be Provide 2,500 vaccines, and the Taoyuan Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare will start vaccinations as soon as Wednesday, 22nd.
