Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/03/08
By: Chen Wei-ting and Y.F. Low

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) Taiwan recorded 314 new cases of severe flu with complications last week, 37 of which resulted in deaths, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

Since July last year — the starting point for each flu season in Taiwan — 1,423 severe flu cases have been reported in Taiwan, and 121 of them have been fatal, the CDC said.

Influenza A H1N1 remains the most prevalent strain of virus this year, but influenza B cases are also increasing, according to the CDC.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that from the 1976-1977 season to the 2006-2007 flu season, flu-associated deaths ranged from about 3,000 to 49,000 people per year in America.

Using the same methodology, the CDC has estimated that about 1,000 to 2,200 people die from flu-related complications in Taiwan during every flu season.     [FULL  STORY]