Cases of influenza predicted to increase: CDC
TAIPEI, Taiwan – With this week’s sudden drop in temperatures, and based on statistical data gathered in past years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that many cases of influenza may be expected in the near future.
The CDC stated that cases of influenza are likely to surface from December to March, and that newly gathered data already suggests an increase in the number of people infected with the virus. In addition, many cases of influenza are already being discovered around the world in nations like Japan, mainland China, the United States and Canada, indicating that the influenza season is already swinging into full gear an will likely intensify in the coming weeks.
According to the CDC, influenza can cause serious health consequences, and may even result in hospitalization or death. The CDC also said that the elderly, children, pregnant women and people with certain health issues are at high risk of serious complications.
Since the best way to prevent influenza is by getting vaccinated before the flu season, the CDC reminds citizens to seize the opportunity for free flu vaccines if they are qualified for the government-backed program.
For example, children from 6 months to 12 years old, elderly over the age of 65, chronic diseases patients over 50 years old and pregnant women are included among those who can get free flu vaccinations. People can also visit CDC’s website to check if they or their family members are qualified for free flu vaccinations, which can be administered at local health centers and clinics, said the CDC.
The CDC said that since free flu vaccinations became available to certain members of the public on Oct. 1, there have already been about 2.5 million vaccines provided for adults and about 179,000 vaccines for children. Since it takes two weeks for the vaccination to become effective after injection, now is the right time to get vaccinated, said the CDC.
The CDC also reminded people that it is also important to maintain personal hygiene by washing hands and wearing masks to prevent infection.
CDC Maintains H7N9-related Travel Alert for China Regions
As the first H7N9 cases were reported in Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, the CDC recently raised the travel alert from level 1 to level 2, saying that people should be more cautious when visiting these places since these regions were the most affected by H7N9 last year.
In addition, the CDC also stated that avian flu is more likely to spread during winter. As H7N9 cases have been discovered in several provinces in mainland China since the fall, the CDC decided to sustain H7N9-related travel alerts at level 2 for Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, while other provinces still have level 1 warnings.
Source: The China Post
Published: 03 Dec 2014
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