Taipei Times
Date: Sep 30, 2020
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

HOLIDAY CAUTION: A physician said that the number of diarrhea cases reported over the Mid-Autumn Festival breaks in the past few years has been trending upward

Clinical and emergency department visits to treat diarrhea have increased in the past few weeks, and the number usually peaks near the Mid-Autumn Festival, so people should maintain good hygiene during the holidays, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that 113,361 clinics and emergency department visits for diarrhea were reported from Sept. 20 to Saturday last week, and the weekly reported number has been increasing in the past few weeks.

“Reports of clustered cases of diarrhea have also slightly increased recently, with the majority caused by norovirus infection, and a few cases caused by bacterial pathogens,” Guo said.

Fifty-eight clustered cases have been reported in the past four weeks, which is higher than the same period in the past two years, and among 24 clusters that tested positive for viral or bacterial pathogens, 19 clusters involving 393 people were caused mainly by norovirus infection, he said.    [FULL  STORY]